<i 


DO  NOT  SAY" 


OR  THE  CHURCH'S  EXCUSES 

FOR  NEGLECTING  THE 

HEATHEN. 


WITH  A  STATEMENT  AND  AN  APPEAL. 


J.  HEYWOOD  HORSBURGH,  M.A. 

(C.  M.  S.      MISSIONARY  IN  MID-CHINA). 


W.  J.  SHUEY. 

United  Brethrkn  Publishing  Hodse. 

dayton,  ohio. 


1/ 


NOTE. 

If  you  think  this  little  book  is  likely  to  do  good,  will  you 
begin  to  "do  your  part"  by  helping  to  make  it  very  widely 
known?  It  is  purposely  priced  «^ /owa^/o^j/^/e.  Should  any- 
one like  to  give  a  little  extra  toward  expenses,  it  will  be  wel- 
comed. 

(i)  Please  order  three  copies  of  "Do  not  Say."  Send 
them  to  three  friends,  and  ask  each  of  them  to  do  the  same. 
Will  you  do  this  to-day  if  possible  ? 

(2)  Please  bring  the  pamphlet  to  the  notice  of  Christian 
Ministers,  Secretaries  of  Conventions,  Christian  Associations, 
Missionary  Unions,  Christian  Medical  Students,  Hospital 
Nurses,  Deaconesses,  and  Christian  people  generally. 

(3)  Please  mention  "  Do  not  Say  "  from  the  Pulpit,  from 
the  Platform,  and  in  the  local  Newspapers.  State  the  price 
and  where  it  can  be  had. 

(4)  Finally,  please  pray  that  wherever  the  little  messa^« 
goes,  hearts  may  be  prepared  to  give  heed. 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  year  1892, 'crv 
FLEMING  H.  REVELL  COMPANY, 
In  the  office  of  the  Librarian  of  Congress,  at  Washington,  D.  Ct 
All  Rights  Reserved, 


PREFATORY  NOTE  TO  THE  THIRD  EDITION. 


God  has  answered  prayer  with  regard  to  this  Httle 
book  beyond  our  thoughts.  It  has  been  scattered 
far  and  wide,  and  almost  every  day  letters  are  re- 
ceived testifying  that  He  is  graciously  using  the 
simple  message.  Will  those  who  have  helped  so 
much  by  prayer  and  sympathy,  now  thank  God  for 
His  good  Hand  upon  us?  And  will  they  ask  Him 
very  definitely  to  use  this  new  edition,  and  also  the 
separate  editions  of  "  Do  Not  Say,"  published  in 
America  and  in  Germany? 

More  especially,  may  I  very  earnestly  entreat 
those  who  take  up  this  pamphlet,  not  to  give  it 
merely  a  passing  glance,  but  to  take  it  to  God  and 
read  it  through  thoughtfully  in  His  presence?  Do 
ask  Him  really  to  speak  to  you,  and  to  show  you 
His  will — His  will  for  you. 

''  Speak  Lord,  for  Thy  servant  heareth."  How 
often  the  Lord  cannot  speak,  because  His  servants 
will  not  hear ! 

J.  H.  H. 


PREFATORY  NOTE. 


The  following  pages  have  been  written  not  with- 
out much  prayer  and  earnest  thought.  Will  you  ask 
God  to  use  them  for  His  glory?  It  may  not,  per- 
haps, be  difficult,  if  we  wish  to  do  so,  to  pick  holes 
in  what  has  been  said,  to  find  answers  of  some  kind 
to  what  has  been  adduced.  And  Satan  will  do  his 
best  to  help  us,  we  may  be  sure  of  that !  But  in 
spite  of  flaws  and  blemishes,  or  whatever  there  may 
be  amiss,  I  am  persuaded  that  the  underlying  cur- 
rent of  what  is  here  written  is  God's  solemn  truth, 
and  that  at  our  peril  we  try  to  trifle  it  away. 

However,  with  our  partial  sight,  we  may  choose 
to  look  upon  it,  the  thing  itself  is  simply  monstrous 
— that  the  Heathen  should  be  left  as  they  are  to-day. 

And,  although  it  certainly  is  not  for  another  to 
decide  for  you,  and  say  yon  ought  to  become  a  Mis- 
sionary, or  yon  ought  to  let  your  child  go,  or  yon 
ought  to  give  more  money  to  send  others  (God  will 
tell  you  that),  yet  it  is  a  shamefully  wicked  thing 
that  so  many  of  God's  men  and  God's  women  are 
staying  in  Christian  lands  to-day,  when  our  brethren 
and  sisters  abroad,  to  whom  we  might  so  easily  go, 
are  perishing  by  tens  of  thousands  a  day  in  absolute 
ignorance  of  Him! 

Should  this  Appeal  be  used  of  GOD — as  the 
writer  believes  it  will  be  used — to  do  its  little  share 
in  leading  men  to  think,  and  weep,  and  pray,  and  act, 
it  will  not  have  been  written  in  vain.         J.  H.  H. 


CONTENTS. 


Page 
Prefatory  Notes  .....  5 — 6 

Chapter      I. — A  Cruel  Shame!  ...  7 

Chapter     II. — General  Excuses     ...  5:3 

Chapter  III. — Personal  Excuses  .  .  .26 

Chapter  IV. — Plenty  to  Do  at  Home  .  45 

Chapter    V. — More  Missionaries         .  .  .61 

Chapter  VI. — (I.)     A  Heathen  City        .  .  81 

(II.)  Live  for  us  ...        85 

(III.)   Extracts  from  a  Missionary's 

Note  Book  .  .  87 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 

in  2009  with  funding  from 

Princeton  Theological  Seminary  Library 


http://www.archive.org/details/donotsayorchurchOOhors 


"DO   NOT  SAY": 

OR, 

Ttie    Chiiarchi's    Excuses   for    Neglecting 
ttie    Heattien. 


CHAPTER  I. 
A  CRUEL  SHAME! 

*-  We  do  not  well :  this  day  is  a  day  of  good  tidings,  and  we  hold 
our  peace." — 2  Kings  vii,  9. 

"  China's  Teeming  Millions  !"  Yes,  over  three 
hundred  millions!  Would  you  like  to  see  them  pass, 
thirty  every  minute?  Then,  you  must  stand  there, 
never  tiring,  never  sleeping,  closely  watching  night 
and  day,  week  after  week,  month  after  month,  for 
more  than  twenty  years !  And  then  you  will  have 
seen  the  people  in  that  07ie  country  only.  The  teem- 
ing millions  of  other  heathen  lands  will  have  yet  to 
follow!  Or  to  put  it  this  way:  If  you  want  to 
preach  once  in  your  Church,  which  holds  six  hun- 
dred, to  the  Heathen  who  are  living  now,  you  must 
have  a  service  every  day  for  four  thousand  seven 
hundred  and  eighty  years, — that  is,  seven  hundred 
and  eighty  years  longer  than  from  the  Creation 
to  the  birth  of   Christ !     Supposing  then  you   had 

(7) 


8  "  DO   NOT   SAY." 

begun  preaching  in  the  year  our  Lord  was  born,  and 
gone  on  every  day  since,  until  now,  there  would  still 
remain  by  far  the  larger  half  who  had  not  yet 
had  their  turn !  And  amongst  these  thousands 
of  millions  we  send  out  a  little  handful  of  mis- 
sionaries and  expect  to  hear  that  half  the  world  is 
converted ! 

**  Go  ye  into  all  the  world  and  preach  the  Gospel 
to  every  creature."  "  More  than  half  the  people  in 
the  world  have  never  heard  the  Gospel  yet."  A  com- 
mand has  been  given.  It  has  not  been  obeyed. 
What  are  we  to  say  to  this  ?  Surely  it  concerns  us 
Christians  very  seriously.  For  we  are  the  people 
who  are  responsible.  No  one  else  is  responsible. 
The  angels  are  not  responsible,  God  has  not  told  the 
angels  to  preach  the  Gospel  to  the  Heathen.  Again, 
the  unconverted  are  not  responsible.  They  have 
much  to  answer  for,  but  not  the  neglect  of  the 
Heathen.  God  does  not  expect  the  unconverted  to 
preach  the  Gospel  to  the  Heathen.  He  expects  His 
disciples  to  do  it.  The  privilege  of  carrying  the  good 
tidings  has  not  been  granted  to  others.  The  charge 
has  been  entrusted  exclusively  to  us.  What,  then,  can 
we  say  if  our  Master  returns  to-day,  and  finds  after 
nineteen  centuries  more  than  half  the  world  is 
utterly  unevangelized  ?  "  The  Gospel  to  every  crea- 
ture " — a  plain  command.  Millions  who  have  never 
heard  it — a  simple  fact.  What  are  we  going  to  say  ? 
Can  we  say  We  do  not  Know  the  Command? 
Not  know  it  !    Why  it  is  the  old  thread-bare  text 


**  DO   NOT   SAY." 


we  are  tired  of  hearing — we  have  heard  it  so  very^ 
very  often !    Can  we  say  the  Heathen  live  in  coun- 
tries so  far   away  we   cannot   get  to  them?     Nay, 
steamers  are  sailing  to  all  parts  of  the  world  every 
week  and  almost  every  day.     Can  we  say,  although 
it  is  true  we  can  reach  their  shores  we   find  their 
countries  barred  against  us?    Nothing  of  the  kind. 
Look  at  India!    Look  at  Africa !    Or  look  at  China ! 
China    alone    comprises    about    one    third   of   the 
Heathen    world.     And    that    vast    Empire,    almost 
throughout  its  entire  length  and  breadth,  is  open  for 
anyone,  man  or  woman,  to  go  and  preach  the  Gospel 
wherever  he  pleases.     Can  we  say  that  although  it  is 
easy  to  reach  these  countries  and   we    are    free   to 
travel  in  them,  yet  the  climate  is  invariably  deadly 
and  we  cannot  live  there?    In  some  places  the  cli- 
mate is  undoubtedly  bad.     Not  so   bad,  however, 
but   that   when   any  civil   post  is  vacant  there   are 
always  crowds  of  eager  applicants  ready  to  go  at  a 
moment's  notice!    And  in  most  countries,  by  taking 
simple  precautions,   Europeans  can    maintain  their 
health  very  fairly,  while  in  some  districts  the  climate 
is  preferable  to  our  own. 

Can  we  say  "  But  the  languages  of  the  people  are 
so  difficult,  we  cannot  make  them  understand"?  Is 
it  so?  What  are  the  facts ?  The  most  difficult  lan- 
guage in  the  world  is  said  to  be  Chinese.  Whether 
it  is  or  not  I  do  not  know.  But  this  I  know — that 
humble  missionaries  without  educational  advantages 
have  gone  to  that  country,  and  by  sheer  hard  work 


lO  '*  DO   NOT    SAY." 

and  trust  in  God  have  been  able  within  a  year  to 
speak  intelligibly  the  simple  Gospel  truths ! 

Well  then  what  can  we  say?  What  indeed!  I  for 
one  am  utterly  at  a  loss  to  conceive  what  we  can 
say.  After  puzzling  over  this  question,  and  casting 
about  in  all  directions  to  lay  hold  of  something 
which  we  might  reasonably  urge  as  our  excuse,  I  am 
obliged  to  give  it  up  !  If  our  Master  returned  to-day 
to  find  millions  of  people  unevangelized,  and  looked, 
as  of  course  He  would  look,  to  us  for  an  explanation, 
I  cannot  imagine  what  explanation  we  should  have 
to  give. 

Of  one  thing  I  am  certain — that  most  of  the  ex- 
cuses we  are  accustomed  to  make  with  such  a  good 
conscience  now^  we  should  be  wholly  ashamed  of 
then. 

"A  GREAT  MANY  PEOPLE  IN  THE  WORLD  HAVE 
NEVER  HEARD  OF  Jesus."  We  read  that  sentence, 
or  say  it  ourselves,  without  knowing  what  we  do.  It 
is  very  sad,  of  course !  We  are  very  sorry.  But  to 
hear  there  was  an  outbreak  of  measles  or  chicken-pox 
in  our  neighborhood,  would  affect  us  much  more! 

And  yet,  if  we  were  suddenly  to  take  in  the 
reality  of  what  we  were  saying,  a  thrill  of  horror 
would  seize  us,  and  stricken  down  on  our  faces 
before  God,  we  should  be  filled  with  burning  shame, 
and  consternation  and  woe. 

Ah,  we  do  not  think  what  it  means,  that  our 
brothers  and  sisters,  so  easily  accessible,  so  perfectly 
able    to    understand    the    Gospel    message,   and    so 


"  DO   NOT   SAY."  1 1 

^teatly  needing  it,  are  being  left  in  millions  to  per- 
ish. If  we  did,  should  we  be  PLAYING  WITH  MIS- 
SIONS as  most  of  us  are  ? 

Supposing  the  news  were  flashed  upon  us  that 
there  were  a  hundred  thousand  people  in  one  of  the 
inland  States  who  had  never  heard  of  God,  who  had 
no  one  to  care  for  them,  who,  if  the  Name  of  Jesus 
were  mentioned,  would  not  have  an  idea  what  was 
meant !  How  the  news  would  shock  us.  We  should 
be  perfectly  startled,  horrified.  It  would  be  so 
dreadful !  And  the  Gospel  would  be  brought  to 
everyone  of  them  within  a  week.  Who  can  doubt 
it  ?  But  why  would  it  be  so  dreadful  that  a  hundred 
thousand  people  should  not  have  heard  of  God,  if 
they  happened  to  live  on  this  side  the  water,  and 
yet,  comparatively,  of  no  consequence  that  millions 
should  be  in  ignorance  of  Him,  if  they  happen  to 
live  on  that  side  the  water  ? 

"  Oh,  but  here  they  are  respectable  people,  and 
there— well,  at  best,  they  are  '  Only  Heathen  Chi- 
nese."* "Only  Heathen  Chinese!"  But  "only 
Heathen  Chinese  "  have  sins,  and  pains,  and  sorrows, 
and  hearts  to  feel  them  too,  the  same  as  you. 
"  Heathen  Chinese  "  are  brothers  and  sisters  whom 
Jesus  bids  you  love.  Even  "  Heathen  Chinese " 
have  souls  to  be  saved  or  lost.  And  I  suppose  it 
was  for  "  Heathen  Chinese,"  as  much  as  fpr  you, 
that  the  Saviour  shed  His  blood? 

No,  you  cannot  believe  it  really  makes  any  dif- 
ference whether  they  are  "  respectable  Americans  " 


12  "  DO   NOT   SAY. 

or  *'only  Heathen  Chinese."  *  Whether  their  skins 
are  yellow  or  black,  or  red  or  white.  Whether  they 
live  here,  or  live  there.  People  are  people,  men  are 
men,  SOULS  are  souls  wherever  they  are.  IV/ia^ 
does  it  matter  to  GOD,  whether  we  eall  them  A  meri- 
cans,  or  Chhiese,  or  by  some  other  name?  Whether 
they  happen  to  live  on  this  side  the  water,  or  on  that  ? 
*'  Whether  their  souls  are  in  black  bodies  or  in  white 
ones   f 

Oh,  it  is  a  cruel  shame,  a  disgrace  to  the  Church 
of  Christ,  that  we  are  almost  at  the  close  of  the  nine- 
teenth century,  and  millions  of  our  fellow-men  have 
never  heard  of  Jesus  yet — ''  Redeemed,  but  they 
don't  know  it."  No  one  has  gone  to  them  in  the 
years  that  are  past ;  and,  to  multitudes  of  them,  no 
one  is  going  to-day. 


*  It  may  be  well  to  remember  that  the  Chinese  were  and 
had  been  for  centuries,  a  great  and  civilized  people,  when 
we,  the  Anglo-Saxons,  were  a  vulgar  horde  of  savages,  offer- 
ing up  human  sacrifices,  and  committing  all  sorts  of  abomi- 
nations ! 


"DO   NOT   SAY.  13 


CHAPTER  II. 
GENERAL    EXCUSES. 

Am  I  my  brother's  keeper  ?" — Gen.  iv,  9. 


DO  NOT  SAY  "  Missions  to  the  Heathen  /ire  absurd.     I 
do  not  believe  in  them  ! " 

Think  of  what  you  are  saying.  Of  course,  if  you 
are  not  a  Christian,  nobody  expects  you  to  beheve 
in  Missions  to  the  Heathen.  Why  should  you  ?  You 
do  not  beheve  in  Missions  yourself,  still  less  to  the 
Heathen.  It  will  be  time  enough  to  expect  you  to 
believe  in  preaching  the  Gospel  to  the  Heathen 
when  (may  it  be  soon !)  you  know  the  gladness  of  it 
yourself. 

But  if  you  are  converted,  do  think  of  what  you 
are  saying.  You  have  no  faith  in  Missions  to  the 
Heathen.  Your  Master  does,  very  emphatically, 
and  He  has  given  a  very  plain  command  on  the 
subject.  But  you  do  not.  You  are  wiser  than  your 
Master.  You  know  that  foreign  Missions  are  of  no 
use, — waste  of  money,  waste  of  time,  waste  of  every- 
thing. Your  Master  made  a  mistake  !  He  did  not 
know  what  He  was  talking  about ! 

My  brother,  how  dare  you  stand  up,  and  in  one 
breath  call  yourself  a  servant  of  Jesus  Christ,  and  in 
the  next  ridicule — for  it  comes  to  nothing  less  than 
that — your  Master's  last  parting  command  ? 


14  "  DO    NOl'  SAY. 

When  that  Master,  whose  solemn  charge  to  us  as 
He  went  away  was,  "Go  ye  into  all  the  world,  and 
preach  the  Gospel  to  every  creature,"  comes  back  to 
know  whether  we  have  obeyed  it,  I,  for  one,  should 
not  like  to  be  amongst  those  of  His  servants  who 
*' do  not  believe  in  Missions  to  the  Heathen," — 
in  other  words,  who  do  not  believe  m  doing  what 
He  tells  them  I 

DO  NOT  SAY  "The  Native  Christians  are  all  hypocrites." 

How  do  you  know?  Have  you  seen  them  all? 
Perhaps  some  are.  But  are  all  the  Christians  in  this 
country  everything  they  ought  to  be?  It  is  tho- 
roughly sickening  to  hear  Home  Christians  (?)  who 
are  living  comfortably  at  ease,  who  have  never  done 
anything  for  Christ,  nor  endured  one  moment's  dis- 
comfort on  His  account,  and  who  never  intend  to, 
talking  thus  of  brothers  and  sisters  whose  lives  put 
theirs  utterly  to  shame,  and  who  for  Jesus' sake  have 
endured  the  loss  of  all  things,  and  gone  (some  of 
them)  cheerfully  to  torture  and  the  flames,  singing 
His  praises  with  their  dying  breath. 

DO  NOT  SAY    "The   Missionaries  are  all  make-believes. 
They  live  in  luxury,  and  do  nothing." 

Is  it  true  ? 

And  if  it  is  true,  why,  there  is  all  the  more  urgent 
need  for  you  really  good,  self-denying  people  to 
come  yourselves  !  If  those  who  have  hitherto  gone 
forth  (leaving  in  many  cases,  fortune,  and  prospects, 
and  a  loving  home)  are  only  "  make-believes,"   it  is 


"DO   NOT   SAY."  15 

indeed  time  that  the  true  ambassadors  hurried  for- 
ward. 

DO  NOT  SAY  "I  cannot  support  the  present  system.  Mis- 
sionaries ought  to  live  like  the  Natives,  and  on  $100  a 
year,  or  less." 

Why  ought  they?  And  how  do  you  know  they 
all  can  ? 

Many  people  live  in  this  country  on  not  much 
more  than  $100  a  year.     So  of  course  you  do  ? 

DO  NOT  SAY  "  We  prefer  to  give  to  home  objects,  for  we 
cannot  afford  to  send  men  and  money  out  of  the  country." 

I  wonder  if  that  is  what  the  angels  said,  when 
God  spoke  of  giving  up  His  only  Son  to  leave  the 
Home-Land  and  go  to  a  strange  country  ?  It  is  what 
we  should  have  said  had  we  been  there — is  it  not  ? 
For  even  in  our  charity  we  cannot  afford  not  to  be 
thinking  of  ourselves  !  But  is  this  indeed  all  we  are 
capable  of?  Are  we  never  \.o  give  only  to  lend,  hop- 
ing for  something  again,  and  CALL  IT  GIVING?  Are 
we  never  to  help  our  fellow-men,  however  needy, 
till  we  are  quite  sure  we  shall  not  ourselves  be  the 
poorer?  Is  this  narrow  selfishness  the  breadth  of 
our  generosity  ? 

But  what,  if  by  refusing  to  send  the  civilizing, 
enterprising  Gospel  to  the  Heathen  we  are  missing 
a  great  opportunity,  declining  an  investment  which 
would  bring  in  literal  stores  of  wealth? 

Be  that  as  it  may,  no  nation  was  ever  the  poorer 
yet  for  obeying  God's  command.     Depend  upon  it 


l6  "  DO   NOT   SAY.*' 

this  keeping  back  is  short-sighted  policy.  Withhold 
your  money;  withhold  your  Missionaries,  and  this 
country  will  be  the  poorer.  Give  out  your  money  ; 
give  out  your  Missionaries — the  very  best,  and  in 
vastly  increased  numbers — and  this  nation  will  be 
a  hundredfold  the  richer. 

"  There  is  that  scattereth,  and  yet  increaseth : 
there  is  that  withholdeth  more  than  is  meet,  and — it 
tendeth  to  poverty T 

DO  NOT  SAY  "Why  should  we  do  everything  ?     We  are 
doing  our    share.      Let   other   Countries    do   something.*' 

Other  countries  are  doing — little  enough,  it  is 
true — but  more,  perhaps,  than  we  think.  And  to  us 
God  has  given  special  advantages,  which  others  do 
not  possess. 

But,  away  with  this  puny,  selfish  talk  !  With  half 
a  world  full,  and  more,  of  needy  fellow-men  staring 
us  in  the  face — to  whom  we  might  bring  the  joyful 
news  of  God's  salvation,  but  to  whom  we  are  not 
bringing  it — shall  we  rest  languidly  on  our  oars,  and 
talk  happily  about  "  doing  our  share  "  } 

Look  at  that  noble  vessel  yonder — a  complete 
wreck  !  Half-a-dozen  life-boats  ought  to  be  putting 
out  to  save  her.  But  only  one  goes  forth  !  Will  her 
brave  sailors  content  themselves  with  leisurely  pick- 
ing up  a  drowning  man  here  and  there,  and  answer 
the  despairing  cries  of  others  with — ''Oh,  no!  We 
are  doing  our  share'"?  Nay,  the  neglect  of  those 
who  stayed  behind  is  to  them  but  a  stimulus  to  the 
more  exertion. 


"  DO   NOT   SAY."  17 

Besides — "We  are  doing  our  share!**  Why,  it 
is  ridiculous !  We  have  hardly  begun  to  do  anything 
vet. 

DO  NOT  SAY  "  The  Heathen  are  acting  up  to  their  light; 
why  should  we  trouble  them  to  change  their  religion  ?  They 
have  very  good  religions  of  their  own." 

The  Heathen  are  7iot  acting  up  to  their  light. 

They  have  very  bad  religions  of  their  own. 

But  as  for  troubling  them  to  change — do  you 
suppose  we  go  to  heathen  lands  ''to  get  people  to 
change  their  religion  "  ?  I  for  one  would  not  go  a 
yard  to  get  a  man  to  change  his  religion,  I  am  not 
unselfish  enough.  But  I  would  go  to  China,  if  it 
were  twice  the  distance  that  it  is,  to  get  a  man  to 
receive  the  Lord  Jesus  as  his  personal  Saviour  and 
Friend — which  is  a  very  different  thing.  Religion 
cannot  save  ;  not  even  the  Christian  religion.  But 
Jesus  Christ  can,  and  does.  And,  oh,  how  they  need 
a  Saviour! 

DO  NOT  SAY  "But  God  is  very  merciful.  He  will  not  be 
hard  upon  the  Heathen.  *  The  Lord  He  is  God.'  He  will 
see  that  it  comes  all  right  in  the  end." 

God  is  just  as  well  as  merciful.  The  Heathen 
are  sinning  wilfully  every  day.  And  "The  wages  of 
sin"  is — not  'all  right  in  the  end,'  but — "death." 

True,  if  we  neglect  our  part,  God  can  find  some 
other  way  of  carrying  out  His  purposes.  But  that 
will  not  lessen  our  guilt;  nor  can  it  do  away  with  our 
loss. 

Do  Not  Say— 2 


1 8  "DO   NOT   SAY." 

DO  NOT  SAY  "  For  one  who  receives  the  Gospel  there 
will  be  a  hundred  who  reject  it.  If  you  go  to  the  Heathen 
you  will  only  increase  their  condemnation.  It  is  kinder  to 
stay  away  and  leave  them  as  they  are." 

Then  we  had  better  pull  down  our  Churches  and 
Sunday  Schools,  burn  our  Bibles,  import  a  few  idols 
from  India  (for  the  people  will  want  something),  and 
bring  up  our  own  people  as  heathen — for  by  giving 
them  the  Gospel  we  only  increase  the  responsibility 
and  condemnation  of  those  who  reject  it  ! 

How  can  we  be  so  unkind,  too,  as  to  tell  our 
children  it  is  right  to  speak  the  truth,  seeing  that 
their  guilt  will  be  the  greater  the  next  time  they  tell 
a  lie  !  All  opportunity  of  knowledge  adds  to  the 
responsibility  of  those  who  neglect  or  misuse  it — and 
many  do — therefore,  let  us  try  to  keep  everybody 
ignorant  of  everything ! 

Oh,  foolish  wiseacres !  Surely  God  knows  as 
much  about  it  as  we  do,  and  cares  as  much  for  the 
welfare  of  the  Heathen  as  we  do.  Would  He  tell  us 
to  go  to  them  and  preach  the  Gospel  if  it  were 
^^ kinder  to  stay  away  ''? 

DO  NOT  SAY  "Amongst  such  multitudes  of  Heathen  the 
most  we  can  do  is  as  nothing.  It  can  make  scarcely  any 
appreciable  difference  whether  we  do  much  or  little.  The 
task  is  hopeless." 

Again  remember,  as  servants  and  not  masters,  it 

is  ours  not  to  question,  but  to   obey.     What  right 

have  we  to   sit  still,   and  call  the  work  which  our 

Master  has  given  us  to  do  a  hopeless  task,  instead  of 

getting  up  and  doing  it? 


"DO    NOT   SAY."  19 

But  the  task  is  not  hopeless.  If  only  from  every 
Congregation,  or  Christian  Association,  one  man  or 
one  woman  would  go  forth,  and  that  congregation  or 
association  would  support  him,  there  at  once  would 
be  the  Missionaries — enough  to  evangelize  the  world  ! 
It  is  not  our  responsibility  to  convert  the  nations,  but 
it  is  our  responsibility  to  evangelize  them — to  give 
them  the  opportunity.  And  it  might  be  done  so 
easily  ! 

Oh  !  It  is  just  this,  the  ease  with  which  it  might 
be  done,  that  makes  things  so  much  worse.     To  see 
our  poor  fellow-men  bowing  their  heads  in  heathen 
temples,   degrading    themselves    beneath    the    level 
of  the  beasts,  living  lives  so  wretched,  so  cruel,  so 
hopeless,  so    bad — God's    creatures    without    God 
— in  any  case,    and   under  any  circumstances,  must 
be  sad  enough.     But   if  we  could  say   to   ourselves 
'*  Poor  things  !    it    really    cannot   be    helped.      We 
Christians  are   so  few  we   have  not  more  men  and 
women  to  go  to  you.     And,  besides,  we  are  so  poor 
we  could  not  send  them  if  we  had  ;  we  have  already 
denied  ourselves  to  the  last  penny  we  possess  " — if 
we  could  say  this,  there  would  be  some  sort  of  com- 
fort.    But  to  know  that  we  can  say  nothing  of  the 
kind  !  to  know  that,  if  we  chose,  we  could  bring  the 
Gospel  to  them  all  !  and  to  know  that  we  are  not 
doing  it,  and  are  not  likely  to  do  it ! — it  is  this  which 
presses  upon  the  missionary's  heart  when  he  finds 
himself  alone  amongst  them,  and  which  enters  like 
iron  into  his  soul. 


20  *'  DO   NOT   SAY. 

DO  NOT  SAY  «'  The  Heathen  must  be  evangelized  by  the 
Natives  themselves.  What  we  want  is  not  so  much  Mis- 
sionaries as  Christian  Natives  to  do  the  work." 

Certainly  we  do.  But  how  are  we  to  get  them  ? 
How  is  it  that  in  some  places  there  are  Christian 
natives  doing  so  much  for  the  extension  of  Christ's 
kingdom  ?  Because,  for  years  past  you  have  been 
sending  Missionaries  to  those  districts.  How  is  it 
that  in  innumerable  other  districts  there  is  not  a 
single  Christian  native  doing  anything?  Because,  to 
those  districts  you  have  not  sent  any  Missionaries. 
And  till  Missionaries  are  sent,  there  is  no  possibility 
of  their  doing  anything,  or  of  the  Heathen  there 
being  "  evangelized  by  the  natives  themselves." 
How  can  Heathen  natives  evangelize  the  Heathen  ! 

To  take  China  for  example.  It  is  useless  to  sup- 
pose that  a  few  Christians  near  the  coast  can  in- 
fluence people  in  other  Provinces,  and  speaking  dif- 
ferent dialects,  hundreds  of  miles  away.  What  in- 
fluence would  a  few  poor  simple  Christians  in  New 
England  exert  upon  THE  INHABITANTS  OF  MEXICO  ? 
Let  us  pray  that  God  will  baptize  the  native  Chris- 
tians with  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  fill  them  with  a  true 
missionary  spirit.  But  even  then,  there  are  crowds 
of  Heathen  around  them  utterly  unevangelized. 
Little  would  be  gained  if  they  left  these,  whose 
language  and  customs  they  know,  to  go  to  distant 
places  where  the  people  and  their  language  are  alike 
strange. 

We  must  send  Missionaries  to  begin  the  work — nol 


"DO  NOT  SAY."  21 

to  a  few  places  near  the  coast,  but  to  all  the  prov- 
inces, and  to  all  the  countries  throughout  those  prov- 
inces, to  gather  in,  under  God,  at  each  centre,  a  mi- 
cleiis  of  native  Christians.  The  native  Christians  can 
then  evangehze  the  surrounding  districts,  and  thus 
the  whole  Empire  may  be  reached. 

DO    NOT    SAY    "Ah,  but   after  all,  we  need  not  trouble 
about  numbers.     Remember  Gideon's  three  hundred." 

Yes,  remember  Gideon's  three  hundred,  but  for- 
get the  forty-two  thousand  who  offered  ! 

At  that  time,  and  for  a  special  purpose,  God  ^.?- 
^2V^<^  three  hundred,  and  three  hundred  only,  were 
to  go.  And  the  work  was  done.  Provided  God's 
command  is  really  carried  out,  by  all  means  let  only 
three  hundred  go,  or  thirty,  or  three. 

But  when  God  has  told  us  to  go  and  preach  the 
Gospel  to  every  creature,  and  millions  are  dying  with- 
out it,  because  we  do  not  choose  to  go  to  them,  it  is 
vain,  nay,  it  is  wicked  trifling,  to  try  to  hide  our  dis- 
obedience and  throw  the  responsibility  upon  God, 
under  the  convenient  cloak  of  Gideon's  three  hun. 
dred. 

Strange,  too,  that  in  Heathen  lands,  where  there 
is  often  not  one  Missionary  to  a  miUion  people,  we 
piously  remind  ourselves  that  "  it  is  nothing  with 
the  Lord  to  save  by  many  or  by  few,"  and  we  feel 
comforted  !  But  if  one  or  two  extra  ones  think  of 
leaving  our  own  land,  with  its  armies  of  Christian 
workers,  and  going  to  the  Heathen,  we  get  quite 


22  "  DO   NOT   SAY. 

alarmed ;  although  it  is  true,  I  suppose,  that  the 
Lord  is  able  to  save  by  few  here  as  much  as  in 
Heathendom,  and  although,  after  the  few  extra  ones 
have  gone,  there  will  still  be  thousands  left  beJiind! 

Why  not  try  Gideon's  three  hundred  in  the  Home 
lands?  It  might  be  as  good  for  America  as  for 
China,  and,  perhaps,  a  little  better! 

Besides,  where  are  Gideon  s  three  hundred  in 
Heathen  lands?  Where  I  have  travelled,  if  indeed 
the  three-hundredth  man  was  there,  too  often  I 
found  that  somehow  Gideon  and  the  two  hundred 
and  ninety-nine  had  stayed  behind  !  If  you  must 
talk  about  Gideon's  three  hundred,  why  not  send 
tJiem? 

DO    NOT   SAY   "  But  we  are  not  all  called  to  be  Mission- 
aries," 

No,  apparently  not !  And,  as  far  as  I  can  see,  we 
are  not  in  the  very  least  danger  of  thinking  that  we 
all  are.  We  are  much  more  in  danger  of  transpos- 
ing the  words,  and  thinking  **  We  are  all  not  called 
to  be  Missionaries." 

DO    NOT    SAY    "  But  we  cannot  send  everybody  away;  we 
must  keep  some  good  people  at  Home." 

Certainly  we  must.  And,  what  is  more,  we  do. 
'  Seeing  that  out  of  i,ooo  good  people,  999  stay  in 
our  own  land,  and  one,  at  most,  goes  to  the  great 
needy  countries  beyond,  it  does  not  seem  that  we 
need  begin  to  be  very  anxious  just  yet,  lest  the 
Heathen  should  get  more  than  their  share  ! 


''  DO   NOT   SAY."  23 

One  out  of  a  thousand — nay,  not  so  many — going 
to  the  Heathen,  and  already  we  cry  out  in  alarm,  and 
grudge  them  even  that  one! 

Is  this  being  in  sympathy  with  Jesus?  Is  this 
obeying  His  command  ? 

DO  NOT  SAY  "  But  we  are  doing  so  much  for  the 
Heathen.  Why,  we  sent  out  a  hundred  Missionaries  to 
China  alone  in  one  year !" 

So  much  !  Supposing  your  house  was  on  fire,  and 
the  fire  department  sent  half-a-dozen  children  with 
seaside  buckets  to  put  it  out,  what  would  you  think 
of  it  ?  And  when  you  indignantly  run  and  ask  them 
whatever  they  mean  by  trifling  with  you  like  that, 
they  solemnly  assure  you,  '*  Oh,  we  are  doing  so 
much — for  you  especially.  We  only  sent  three  to 
the  other  house,  but  we  sent  six  to  you."  Would  not 
you  be  happy  ? 

The  fact  is  we  forget  the  size  of  these  countries 
and  the  numbers  of  people  they  contain. 

"A  hundred  Missionaries  to  China  in  one  year !" 
Why,  if  our  eyes  were  opened,  instead  of  congratu- 
lating ourselves  upon  ''  doing  so  much,"  we  should 
be  utterly  astounded  and  ashamed  to  think  that  out 
of  the  thousands  of  Christian  young  men  and  women 
in  this  country,  only  one  hundred  were  found  ready 
to  go  to  great  "  dark  hungry  China "  in  a  whole 
year ! 

In  reality  the  Church  of  Christ  is  playing  with 
the  Heathen,  and  then  we  mock  them  by  talking 
about  ''doing  so  much." 


24  •'  DO   NOT   SAY." 

DO  NOT  SAY  "  Oh !  but  nowadays  we  really  do  take 
such  a  great  interest  in  Foreign  Missions.  It  is  perfectly 
delightful !" 

Ah  yes,  we  take  such  a  deep  interest  in  Foreign 
Missions.  We  are  so  fond  of  one  or  two  pet  Mis- 
sionaries. We  like  to  attend  the  Missionary  meet- 
ings. (If  it  is  a  fine  evening  we  nearly  half  fill  the 
room !)  We  give  so  much  to  the  collection.  (A 
hundredth  part,  perhaps,  of  what  we  spend  upon 
ourselves !)  We  belong  to  the  Missionary  Union. 
We  patronize  the  Missionary  Convention.  Some- 
times we  read  the  Missionary  paper.  And  we  are 
quite  enthusiastic  over  a  Bazaar.  In  fact,  we  are 
doing  so  many  nice  things.  But  NOT  GOING  TO 
THE  Heathen  when  we  might  ?  ''  Oh  no,  we  could 
not  do ///^^."  Not  letting  our  children  go?  **  Oh 
no,  we  could  not  think  of  it!"  Not  sending  our 
representative  ?  ''  No,  that  would  not  be  quite  con- 
venient." Not  praying  for  the  work  in  downright 
earnest?  "No,  perhaps  not;  but  still  we  take  a 
very  deep  interest  in  Missions  ! "  Yes,  and  while  we 
are  stopping  at  home,  *'  taking  such  a  very  deep  interest 
in  missions''  our  brothers  and  sisters  yonder  are 
perishing  by  millions,  zvith  no  one  to  care  for  them  ! 

''  Such  a  great  interest  in  missions."  Thank 
God,  there  is  more  than  there  was — some  of  it  a 
very  genuine  interest.  But,  after  all,  does  it  amount 
to  more  than  this — giving  a  little  of  what  we  think 
we  can  spare  after  providing  for  ourselves  ? 

If  we  have  a  taste  for  a  nicer  house,  or  a  new 


"DO   NOT  SAY."  25 

dress,  or  a  popular  book,  or  the  usual  outing,  or  an 
innocent  hobby,  of  course  we  must  gratify  it.  And 
in  our  church,  if  a  larger  organ,  or  an  expensive  choir, 
or  a  little  decoration,  or  a  church  tower,  or  a  peel  of 
bells,  or  additional  workers,  or  any  extra  comfort 
would  be  desirable,  why,  we  must  have  them.  After 
that,  if  there  should  still  be  any  money  or  workers 
to  sparCy  perhaps  we  may  do  a  little  for  the  Heathen  ! 
But  do  we  ever  dream  of  going  without  anything  our- 
selves? Imagine,  for  example,  our  sending  to  the 
Heathen  just  ONE  MORE  MAN  THAN  WE  COULD 
SPARE,  SO  that  for  one  church  we  could  not  find  a 
Minister  !  What  an  outcry  there  would  be  !  Why, 
even  those  who  take  the  most  active  interest 
in  Foreign  Missions  would  be  afraid  we  were 
"  really  going  a  little  too  far."  Yes,  though  that 
clergyman  had  left  but  five  hundred,  nominal 
Christians  already  (many  of  them  true  Christians), 
and  gone  to  a  parish  of  a  thousand  thousand,  all 
Heathen — and  he  the  only  worker  amongst  them  all 
— it  would  still  be  thought  a  dreadful  thing  for  this 
church  to  be  without  a  minister,  albeit  there  were  a 
dozen  other  churches,  half  empty,  in  that  very  place» 
When  shall  we  wake  up,  and  understand,  that  "  tak- 
ing an  interest  in  Foreign  Missions  "  really  ought  to 
mean  something  more  than  giviyig  the  Heat  Jie7i  a  few 
fragments,  after  spreading  a  most  bountiful  table  for 
ourselves  ? 


26  *'  DO  NOT  SAY." 

CHAPTER  III. 
PERSONAL  EXCUSES. 

"Lord,  I  will  follow  Thee — 3«/." — Luke  ix,  6i. 


DO  NOT  SAY  "I  hope  the  Climate  is  healthy,  and  the 
Food  good,  and  the  People  very  nice,  because  I  should 
not  like  to  run  any  risk." 

Fine  talk,  indeed,  for  a  soldier! 

**If  the  climate  is  salubrious,  and  the  feather  beds 
soft,  and  the  dinners  nicely  cooked,  and  if  you  are 
quite  sure  there  is  no  danger  of  being  shot,  I  will  go 
to  the  war.  But  I  should  not  like  to  expose  myself 
to  the  chance  of  fever,  nor  run  the  slightest  risk  of 
being  killed ! " 

For  shame !  Have  you  nothing  better  to  give  to 
God  than  that? 

DO  NOT  SAY  "  What  a  stirring  address  that  was !  It 
was  just  what  our  people  needed.  I  hope  it  will  lead  some 
of  them  to  support  a  Missionary,  or  to  go  themselves." 

That  is  all  very  well.  But  what  is  it  going  to  lead 
^ou  to  do?  Why  do  not  j/ou  support  a  Missionary 
(or  have  your  share  )?    Why  do  not  ^oti  go  ? 

DO  NOT  SAY  "Oh!  evangelizing  the  Heathen  is  the 
Missionaries'  business.     It  does  not  concern  me." 

Nay,  but  it  does  concern  you,  if  you  are  God's 
servant.     And  if  evangelizing  the  Heathen  is  ''the 


"  DO   NOT   SAY."  27 

Missionaries'  business,"  why  may  it  not  be  your 
business  to  become  a  Missionary  ?  Very  likely  it  is. 
Why  is  it  my  business  to  be  a  Missionary  any  more 
than  yours  ?  Anyhow,  in  God's  plan  you  have  your 
part.     Mind  you  find  out  what  it  is,  a7id  do  it. 

DO    NOT    SAY     "I    am    not    good  enough  to  be  a  Mis- 
sionary." 

Is  not  this  the  voice  of  Satan  ?  Would  that  man 
be  fit  to  go  who  felt  himself  good  enough  ?  Do  you 
really  know  the  Lord,  and  love  the  Lord?  Then 
surely  you  can  give  His  message? 

If  there  IS  anything  ivro7tg  with  yon,  you  can  go 
to  Him  and  get  it  put  right  at  once. 

But  as  for  weakness  and  insufficiency,  why,  that 
is  your  strength.  "  It  is  GOD  that  worketh  in  us, 
both  to  will  and  to  do."  And  His  *'  strength  is  made 
perfect  in  weakness!'  The  best  Missionaries  are — 
Not  Angels  but  *'  Nothing."  "  When  I  am  weak, 
then  I  am  strong."  **  Follow  Me  "  (ye  rough  fisher- 
men. I  know  you  are  none  of  you  good  enough, 
but)  **  I  will  make  you  fishers  of  men."    And  He  did. 

DO    NOT    SAY    "I   cannot  be  a  Missionary.     1  have  not 
been  to  College," 

Never  mind  !  A  little  college  training  is  a  good 
thing,  no  doubt,  if  you  can  have  it,  but  it  is  not  essen- 
tial. Some  of  our  Lord's  disciples  had  not  been  to 
college.  Still  He  was  able  to  use  them !  And  He 
will  be  able  to  use  you,  if  you  know  your  Bible,  and 
have  a  humble,  teachable  spirit. 


28  *'  DO   NOT   SAY.'* 

DO    NOT   SAY   "  But  I  have  no  Special  Gifts." 

''  Special  gifts,"  though   exceedingly  useful,  are 

altogether  secondary.    A  Missionary's  life  is  more 

*' ordinary "    than    is    supposed.     Plod    rather   than 

cleverness  is  often  the  best  missionary  equipment. 

The  "  special  gift  "  is  the  gift  of  the  Holy  Spirit — 

Whom  our  Heavenly  Father  WILL  GIVE  to  them 

that  ask  Him.     Do  not  come  without  THAT. 

DO   NOT    SAY   **  I  am  too  old.     I  should  never  be  able  to 
learn  the  language," 

Then  you  can  go  to  other  countries  where  the 
natives  understand  English,  such  as  some  parts  of 
India,  South  Africa,  West  Indies,  or  even  Japan. 

But  who  said  you  could  never  learn  the  language  ? 
God  can  do  greater  things  for  you  in  a  Heathen  land 
than  enable  you  to  learn  to  speak. 

Besides,  you  can  always  be  speaking  by  your  life. 
If  you  will  come  and  REALLY  LIVE  Christ  among 
the  people,  it  will  be  worth  while  coming  a  dozen 
times  over. 

You  are  very  highly  gifted.  You  have  a  thor- 
ough knowledge  of  the  language.  You  are  an  ex- 
tremely fluent  speaker.  The  people  crowd  around 
you  in  the  streets,  and  hang  upon  your  lips.  They 
are  perfectly  amazed,  and  say  one  to  another,  *'  See, 
this  foreign  man,  he  talks  our  language,  just  like 
ourselves!  " 

But  an  ill-mannered  somebody  suddenly  insults 
you,  calls  you  a  bad  name,  throws  a  stone  at  you. 
In  a  moment  you  lose  your  temper,  and  return  a 


"  DO   NOT   SAY."  29 

hard  answer.     Ah  !  what  has  become  of  your  preach- 
ing now? 

Or  perhaps  your  Hfe  at  home  is  faulty.  The 
people  are  sure  to  find  it  out.  And  when  they  hear 
from  your  servants  or  from  those  who  know  you, 
that  you  are  domineering  or  selfish,  thinking  more 
of  yourself  and  of  your  own  comfort  than  of  them, 
the  next  time  you  go  to  preach  your  words  will  not 
go  very  far! 

But  you  are  not  gifted.  You  cannot  learn  the 
language.  You  stammer  out  a  few — a  very  few — 
halting  words,  accent  and  idiom  being  alike  bad. 
The  people  can  hardly  understand  you  at  all.  But 
somehow  there  is  something  in  your  face  and  in 
your  manner  which  speaks  to  them.  They,  too,  get 
behind  the  scenes.  They  go  to  those  who  know 
you  and  say,  ''  That  foreign  man  (or,  *  that  foreign 
woman  ')  who  comes  to  us,  he  (or  she)  doesn't  know 
much  of  our  language — what  sort  of  person  is  it?" 

"Ah!  never  mind  about  the  language.  I  can  tell 
you  this.  I  used  to  have  no  one  to  care  for  me.  But 
now  since  this  dear  foreign  lady  has  come  to  live 
amongst  us  I  know  what  it  is  to  have  somebody  to 
love  me!  She  cannot  talk  much.  But  she  is  so 
patient  and  so  good.  She  never  seems  to  think  of 
herself.  She  is  always  thinking  about  us  poor  people 
— how  can  she  make  us  better." 

Why,  dear  sister,  dear  brother,  those  few  feeble 
stuttering  words,  backed  up  by  a  patient,  loving, 
christian  life,  will  go  further  than  volumes  of  the 


30  "  DO   NOT   SAY. 

most  beautiful  talk,  where  the  life  is  absent — indeed 
they  will ! 

So,  again  I  say,  if  you  will  come  to  the  Heathen 
— and  do  nothing  but  live  a  holy  life,  it  will  be  well 
worth  while  for  you  to  come.  Though  you  never  learn 
to  speak  a  word  of  their  language,  you  will  be  preach- 
ing to  the  people — and  the  best  kind  of  preaching 
too — every  day  you  live ! 

But  you  would  be  able  to  learn  the  language. 
Never  fear.  "  Who  hath  made  man's  mouth?"  I  do 
not  know  anyone  who  had  to  give  up  and  come 
home,  because  he  could  not  learn  the  language  in 
China.  At  the  same  time,  it  does  mean  hard  work, 
and  a  steady,  persevering  spirit. 

DO     NOT    SAY     *«I    should   like  to   go,  but  I  know  my 
parents  would  never  give  their  consent." 

Have  you  ever  seriously  asked  them  ?  Perhaps 
they  are  more  willing  than  you  think.  "  Who  shall 
roll  us  away  the  stone  .  .  .  ?  And,  when  they  looked 
they  saw  that  the  stone  was  rolled  away."  Go  on — 
trust  in  God.  Ask  your  parents.  You,  too,  may 
find  the  stone  already  rolled  away. 

If  not,  do  not  be  discouraged.  Continue  in 
prayer.  Try  to  interest  your  parents  in  missionary 
work.  Let  them  know  you  understand  what  you  are 
talking  about.  Perhaps  they  are  only  waiting  to  see 
whether  you  really  mean  it. 

In  any  case,  be  patient.  Keep  believing.  Per- 
haps when  you  least  expect  it  God  will  make  your 
parents  willing.     In    the   meantime,   be   contented 


*'  DO   NOT   SAY.  31 

where  you  are,  or  wherever  God  puts  you.     And  be 
more  dutiful  and  loving  in  your  home  than  ever. 

DO     NOT     SAY    ♦'  My  health  is   not  very    strong.     I  am 
afraid  I  could  not  stand  the  climate." 

You  cannot  tell.  No  one  can  tell.  There  are 
some  in  the  Mission  Fields  to-day,  whom  the  Doctors 
would  not  pass,  standing  the  climate  well,  and  doing 
excellent  work,  while  others  who  went  out  strong 
have  fallen  !  Even  in  this,  God  is  no  respecter  of 
persons. 

But  there  are  climates  and  climates.  Some  are 
very  bad  and  some  are  very  good.  Because  you 
could  not  live  in  one  country,  it  does  not  in  the  least 
follow  you  could  not  live  in  another.  Nay,  in  the 
satne  country,  you  might  be  always  ill  in  one  part, 
and  yet  strong  and  well  in  another  part.  Why  do 
the  doctors — and  others — not  remember  this? 

Anyway,  if  health  is  a  difficulty,  take  it  to  God. 
If  God  keeps  you  back,  it  is  all  right.  But,  remem- 
ber. He  often  makes  delicate  people  strong  enough 
to  do  impossibilities.  "Jehovah  Rophi"  is  in  the 
Bible  still. 

DO    NOT    SAY   "  But  think  of  the  waste  of  money  if  his 
health  fails  and  he  has  to  come  home." 

Waste  of  money!  What!  have  we  really  began 
to  deny  ourselves  seriously  enough  to  talk  in  that 
strain  ? 

Besides,  do  we  suppose  we  are  going  to  evangel- 
ize the  world  without  running  any  risks?     Nay,  if 


32  "  DO   NOT   SAY. 

we  are  ever  to  succeed  in  bringing  the  Gospel  to  our 
fellow  creatures,  we  must  run  risks  and  make  real 
sacrifices,  and  be  in  desperate  earnest.  There  must 
be  breakdowns,  and  waste  of  money  (so  called),  and 
worse  things  than  that.  We  may  think  of  ourselves 
— our  lives,  our  health,  our  money,  our  friends,  our 
reputation  for  prudence,  what  people  will  say,  and  so 
on.  But  we  shall  never  evangelize  the  Heathen  ! 
Success  after  failure.  Progress  after  loss.  Victory 
over  the  bodies  of  the  slain.  Life  out  of  death.  Is 
not  this  God's  plan? 

Whilst  we  are  thinking  of  ourselves  the 
Heathen  are  perishing!!  Risk  or  no  risk, 
WE  OUGHT  TO  GO  TO  THEM  !  Shall  we  not,  then, 
cease  from  our  calculating  lukewarm  caution,  and, 
with  our  trust  in  God,  dare  to  venture  something, 
dare  to  venture  anything,  rather  than  leave  the 
Heathen  without  God,  as  zve  ARE  leaviitg  them?  Is 
the  Christian  warfare  the  only  one  in  which  it  is  wrong 
to  run  any  risk,  in  which  it  is  a  sin  to  die  ? 

"  Waste  of  money  if  he  breaks  down  and  has  to 
come  home."  Ah  !  but  who  thinks  of  the  waste  of 
Heathen  souls  if  he  might  have  spent  along  and  use- 
ful life  amongst  them,  and  let  them  die  alone?  Of 
course  we  must  not  be  reckless.  That  is  not  God's 
way.  But  what  men  do  every  day  for  their  country, 
and  others  for  gain,  and  some  for  pleasure,  surely 
we  may  do  for  Him  who  gave  Himself  for  us  ? 

Yet,  though  millions  of  sad  and  weary  Heathen 
be  left  without  God,  God's  servants  if  a  little  delicate 


"  DO   NOT   SAY.  33 

may  not  go  to  them,  albeit  numbers  of  our  country- 
men, quite  as  delicate  as  they  are,  are  living  in  those 
very  countries,  for  (in  comparison)  the  most  trifling 
objects !  May  we  not  be  sinning  against  God  and 
against  the  Heathen  in  being  too  cautious  ?  A  step, 
which  in  ordinary  circumstances  may  be  utter  folly, 
in  a  time  oi  emergency  may  be  the  highest  wisdom — 
especially  when  we  have  God  to  count  upon! 

Oh!  do  let  us  decide  that  the  Gospel  MUST  be 
preached  quickly  to  every  creature,  and  then,  subjeci 
to  that,  let  us  be  as  prudent  as  we  can. 

DO    NOT    SAY    "/  cannot   go,  for  I  have   my  Duties  at 
Home." 

You  may  have.  And  they  may  be  such  as  ought 
to  keep  you  at  home.  But  do  not  take  it  for  granted. 
Do  you  suppose  the  Lord  Jesus  came  from  Heaven 
to  save  us  because  He  had  nothing  to  do  up  there? 
And  are  only  those  to  go  to  the  Heathen  who  have 
nothing  to  do  at  home  ?  Why,  those  are  the  very 
people  we  do  not  want! 

DO    NOT    SAY    "In  my  case  it  is  out  of  the  question,  I 
have  my  business  to  attend  to." 

My  business?  It  is  God's  business,  surely,  you 
have  to  attend  to  if  you  are  His  servant !  Of  course 
yotir  business  may  be  God's  business  for  you.  But 
are  you  quite  sure  ? 

The  Apostles  were  engaged  in  business,  but  they 
had  to  leave  it.  You  may  have  to  do  the  same. 
Certainly  if  our  fellow  men  are  to  hear  the  Gospel 

Do  Not  Say — 3 


34  "  DO   NOT   SAY. 

before  they  die,  a  great  many  people  v^h.o  are  in  busi- 
ness will  have  to  give  it  up,  and  go  to  them— your- 
self perhaps  amongst  the  number.  Why  not?  Why 
should  others  go  and  not  you  ? 

It  just  comes  to  this.  Your  life  is  God's  prop- 
erty. Are  you  where  you  are  now,  BECAUSE  yon 
offered  your  life  to  God  for  the  Heathen  or  any- 
where else  ^  and  God  sent  yoit  into  business?  If  so, 
you  are  in  your  right  place — NOT  OTHERWISE. 
Business  is  not  t\vQ  first  thing.  ''Seek  ye  FIRST  the 
Kingdom  of  God'' 

DO  NOT  SAY  *' God  is  beginning  to  make  my  business 
prosper.  He  cannot  mean  me  to  leave  it  when  I  am  getting 
on  so  well." 

Then  does  God  want  as  missionaries  only  those 
who  try  their  hand  at  business  and  fail  ?  Is  to  be 
unsuccessful  in  business  a  good  qualification  for 
making  a  successful  missionary?  Are  we  to  offer 
our  service  to  God  for  the  Heathen  only  when  we 
find  it  is  of  no  use  elsewhere? 

One  had  always  looked  at  it  the  other  way  !  We 
had  thought  that  the  successful  men  in  business — 
not  the  failures — were  the  ones  who  would  be  of  use 
in  the  Mission  Field ! 

DO  NOT  SAY  •'  But  if  I  stay  at  home  I  can  stir  up  others 
to  go ;  or  make  money,  and  send  out  several  Missionaries 
in  my  stead." 

By  far  the  best  way  to  stir  up  others  is  to  set  the 
example,  and  go  yourself,  if  possible. 


"DO    NOT   SAY."  35 

Satan  keeps  us  asleep  as  long  as  he  can  And  as 
soon  as  we  begin  to  awake,  he  suddenly  discovers  to 
us  that  the  best  way  of  helping  the  Heathen  is  to 
stop  at  home  !  Anything  so  long  as  lie  can  keep  us 
from  really  going  to  thcni. 

DO    NOT    SAY     "  It   is  of  no  use  for  me  to  think  of  it. 
There  are  so  many  difficulties  in  the  way." 

Do  you  not  know  that  difficulties  are  a  good  sign? 
All  the  Missionaries  that  ever  were  had  difficulties 
in  the  way  (or  they  ought  to  have  had).  Difficulties 
are  made  to  be  overcome.  They  point  forward^ 
not  backward. 

Tell  the  Society  about  them,  or  consult  your 
friends  (only  take  care  they  are  the  right  sort  of 
friends). 

Above  all,  take  your  difficulties  to  God,  and  wait 
to  see  what  He  will  do  with  them.  Be  importunate, 
but  not  impetuous.  You  can  afford  to  wait,  if  God 
is  at  the  helm.  In  the  meantime  be  doing  good,  and 
—STUDY your  Bible. 

DO  NOT  SAY  "I  have  no  particular  love  for  the  Heathen ; 
I  do  not  feel  any  special  drawing  towards  them." 

Get  to  know  more  about  them ;  pray  more  for 
them  ;  take  a  definite  interest  in  them.  It  is  diffi- 
cult to  love  people  we  do  not  know  about,  or  think 
about.  Do  you  read  the  Missionary  papers?  Do 
you  attend  the  Missionary  Prayer  Meetings? 

But,  after  all,  the  zvay  to  love  the  Heathen  is  to 
go  to  them.     It  is  much  easier  to  love  people  when 


36  "DO   NOT   SAY." 

you  are  living  among  them,  than  when  you  are  ten 
thousand  miles  away  ! 

In  the  meantime,  the  question  really  is,  not  have 
you  "  a  particular  love  for  the  Heathen,"  but — Do 
YOU  LOVE  GOD? 

L)0    NOT    SAY    "  But  it  would  not  do  to  go  from  impulse." 

That  is  easily  settled.  Take  the  matter  soberly 
to  God  in  prayer.     After  that  it  ivill  not  be  impulse. 

Think  of  this.  The  impulse  you  feel  may  be 
God's  Holy  Spirit  stirring  within  you.  But  you  do 
not  in  your  heart  zuant  to  be  a  Missionary?  And 
Satan  knows  it.  So  he  makes  you  pleased  with  your- 
self  that  you  have  the  impulse  to  go,  but  persuades 
you  that  it  would  be  wrong  to  indulge  it  at  present. 
You  are  very  glad  of  the  temporary  excuse — get  set- 
tled down  at  home,  and  never  go  to  the  Heathen 
at  all ! 

If  you  have  no  particular  impulse  to  go  to  the 
Heathen,  Satan  tells  you  you  must  wait  awhile  till 
you  have.  If  you  have  any  impulse  to  go,  he  tells  you 
*'  it  would  never  do  to  go  from  impulse,"  you  must 
wait  awhile,  till  the  impulse  moderates  or  dies  away  ! 

Why  are  we  trifling  like  this — inventing  excuses, 
and  keeping  our  fellow-men  without  God? 

DO    NOT    SAY    '■^My  path,  at  any  rate,  is  clear,  for  I  have 
my  work  for  God  at  Home." 

My  brother,  if  you  have  not  your  work  for  God 
at  Home,  you  may  be  quite  sure  nobody  wants  you 
in  China  or  anywhere  else  ! 


"  DO   NOT  SAY."  37 

People  who  have  not  enough  love  for  God,  and 
the  souls  of  their  fellow-men,  to  be  doing  anything 
at  Home,  do  you  suppose  they  would  be  of  any  use 
abroad  ?  Why,  they  are  JUST  THE  ONES  WHO  OUGHT 
NOT  TO  COME  !  And  yet  if  a  brother  who  is  engaged 
in  Christian  work  talks  of  going  out  as  a  Missionary 
(he  may  have  but  a  Bible  class  once  a  week,  and 
there  may  be  several  others  ready  to  take  his  place), 
his  wise  friends  will  gather  round  him,  and  shake 
their  heads,  and  expostulate,  and  tell  him  he  is  mak- 
ing a  great  mistake.  Others  may  go,  but  God  has 
given  hiin  a  work  to  do  at  Home,  and  how  can  it  be 
right  for  him  to  leave  it  ?  (That  is,  to  go  to  the 
needy  Heathen.  If  it  was  to  get  "  a  better  situa- 
tion," of  course  it  would  be  quite  right  to  leave  it 
the7t  /)  Nice,  pleasant  plausible  talk  !  But  what  does 
it  meuTi  ?  It  means,  that  nobody  who  is  worth  hav- 
ing ought  to  be  a  Missionary.  But  that,  if  we  can 
find  here  and  there  a  few  idle,  good-for-nothing 
Christians,  who  have  no  work  to  keep  them  at  Home, 
perhaps  it  may  be  right  for  some  of  them  to  go 
abroad  !  Thank  you  very  much.  But  we  earnestly 
beg  you  will  keep  them  at  home — every  one  of  them  ! 

Dear  brother,  the  fact  that  you  have  work  for 
God,  in  so  far  as  it  is  an  argument  at  all,  is  an  argu- 
ment for  going  to  the  Heathen  ;  because  if  you  had 
not,  nobody  would  want  you,  and  you  would  be  of 
little  good. 

Many  of  us  in  the  Mission  field,  knozvhig  full 
welly  and  giving  full  weight  to,  the  great  needs  at 


38    -  "  DO   NOT   SAY." 

Hoffie,  soberly  and  strongly  feel  that  SOME  OF  THE 
LEADING  MEN  who  have  work  for  God  in  the  Home 
lands  would  be  abundantly  justified  and  repaid  in 
giving  it  up,  and  going  to  the  Heathen.  When  some 
of  these  do  come  we  may  begin  to  look  for  the  re- 
awakening abroad,  mid  at  Home. 

Do  try  and  think  what  it  really  means  that  mill- 
ions of  our  fellow-men  are  left  without  a  chance. 
Left — simply  because  we  choose  to  leave  them!  Was 
there  ever  such  a  need  as  this? 

Oh,  God,  open  our  eyes  and  our  hearts! 

DO    NOT   SAY   "  But,    surely,  I  must  wait  for  a  Special 
Call  to  go?" 

No,  no,  there  is  a  Special  Call  to  go.  Have  you 
a  Special  Call  to  stop  ?  The  Heathen's  need.  Our 
Master's  command.  That  is  the  Special  Call.  And 
if  it  is  possible  for  you  to  go  (seeing  so  many  can- 
not), surely  it  is  the  Special  Call  to  you  ? 

"Waiting  for  a  Special  Call!"  It  is  nothing  that 
thousands  yonder  are  perishing,  and  that  you  might 
go  to  them  :  no,  you  must  stop  at  home  and  let  them 
perish,  in  spite  of  the  command  to  go,  while  you 
"wait  for  a  Special  Call!"  In  the  blindness  of  our 
hearts  some  of  us  did  this  years  ago.  Thank  God 
He  opened  our  eyes,  and  brought  us  to  our  senses, 
before  the  precious  opportunity  had  slipped — wasted 
— away. 

"A  SPECIAL  CALL  !  "  Why,  ^/China,  for  example, 
were  a  Christian  country,  and  //"there  were  in  China 
as  many  thousands  of  ministers  and  Christian  work- 


"  DO   NOT   SAY.  39 

ers  as  there  are  in  this  country,  China's  need  would 
THEN  be  about  12  or  14  times  as  great  as  ours. 
What  it  is  NOW,  as  a  Heathen  country,  and  with 
often  not  one  worker  aniongst  vimty  millions  of  souls, 
I  am  unable  to  calculate.  Is  not  this  a  "  Special 
Calif  Had  I  waited  for  any  other  I  should  not  be 
a  Missionary  to-day.  Are  you  A  YOUNG  MINISTER 
wishing  to  turn  your  one  little  life  to  the  best  ac- 
count? Then,  I  ask  you,  if  you  were  working  in  a 
small  parish  of  eight  or  nine  hundred  people,  where, 
besides  the  Church,  was  a  Mission  Room,  the  Salva- 
tion Army,  and  other  Christian  workers,  and  you 
were  asked  to  go  to  a  large  charge  of  twenty  thou- 
sand people,  utterly  neglected,  without  a  single  other 
Church,  Chapel,  Mission  Room,  or  worker  besides 
yourself — and  to  which  7iobody  zvould  be  sent  if  you 
declined — if  you  were  free  to  go,  what  would  you  do? 
Would  you  feel  it  right  to  refuse,  and  to  let  those 
twenty  thousand  people  sink  into  Christless  graves, 
while  you  said  to  yourself  you  must  wait  for  a 
*'  special  "  call  to  go  to  them  ?  No,  you  would  feel 
it  needed  a  special  call — a  very  special  call — to  jus- 
tify you  in  staying  where  you  were.  Very  well,  then, 
England  is  the  little  parish,  and  the  Heathen  world 
is  the  parish  of  twenty  thousand.  Surely  it  needs  a 
very  special  call  to  justify  you  in  staying  in  this 
land  ?   But  you  are  ''  waiting  for  a  special  call  to  go!  " 

DO    NOT   SAY   *'  But  no  definite  post  has  been  offered  me. 
I  have  had  no  special  invitation  to  go  to  the  Heathen." 

You   may  not  have  had  a  special  invitation,  but 


40  *'  DO   NOT   SAY. 

you  have  a  plain  command.     There  are  the  Heathen. 
And  God  has  told  us  to  go  to  them. 

If  you  still  feel  you  must  have  a  Special  Call  era 
Special  Invitation,  let  me  ask  you — are  you  looking 
for  it  ?  Some  people  are  never  likely  to  have  a  Spe- 
cial Call.  They  turn  their  faces  the  other  way  !  A 
Special  Call  needs  an  attentive  ear.  If  you  who  are 
waiting  for  a  Special  Call  would  but  wait  to  listen, 
perhaps  you  might  hear  it  even  now. 

DO    NOT     SAY     "  Well,  in  any  case,   I  must  wait  for  a 
closed  door  behind  and  an  open  door  in  front." 

Nothing  of  the  kind.  Ask  the  Missionaries  in  the 
field  how  it  was  with  them.  Why,  they  had  all  sorts 
of  operi  doors  behind,  and  their  friends  trying  to  push 
them  through,  while  (in  many  cases)  the  door  in 
front  was  fast  closed  and  bolted. 

When  God  gives  a  command  it  is  often  so.  Was 
there  an  ''open  door  "  in  front  of  them,  or  the  deep 
rolling  sea,  when  "  the  Lord  said  unto  Moses, 
speak  unto  the  children  of  Israel,  that  they  go 
forward  ?  " 

It  is  as  we  go  forward,  step  by  step,  in  childlike 
obedience,  and  faith,  and  patience,  that  God  opens 
the  door — sometimes  marvellously. 

"  Step  by  step."  Yes,  that  I  believe  is  the  secret. 
God  does  not  want  you  to-day  to  take  a  great  hop, 
skip  and  a  jump  into  some  Heathen  Country.  But, 
perhaps,  He  does  want  you  to  take  some  little  step  ? 
Then  take  it.  You  may  not  see  the  use.  Your  way 
to  the  Heathen  may  be  altogether  blocked.     What 


"  DO   NOT   SAY."  41 

can  this  little  step  do  to  clear  it  ?  It  is  absurd. 
Never  mind  !  God  lays  it  upon  your  heart.  Do  it. 
Herein  lies  the  difference  between  the  Christian  who 
hits  the  mark  and  the  one  who  misses. 

You  are  seeking  guidance.  You  know  not  what 
to  do.  You  want  a  sign  from  Heaven,  clear  and 
definite.  Instead,  some  little  thing  is  suggested  to 
your  mind.  You  do  not  care  for  it.  Or  it  is  so  insig- 
nificant you  take  no  heed.  And  neglecting  to  take 
the  first  step — for  that  is  what  it  is — you  miss  God's 
guidance  ! 

Or  you  take  the  other  course.  It  is  only  a  little 
thing  truly.  You  do  not  quite  see  how  tJiis  is  going 
to  help  you.  But  you  do  it!  You  attend  the  meet- 
ing ;  you  read  the  Magazine ;  you  join  the  Mission- 
ary Society  ;  you  speak  to  your  friend  ;  you  write 
the  letter ;  you  give  yourself  to  prayer — you  take  the 
step,  whatever  it  is.  And  from  this  point  of  vantage 
God  shows  you  another  little  step,  and  another,  and 
so,  without  any  great  leap  or  rush,  but  quite  natu- 
rally, one  day  you  find  yourself  on  the  other  side  of 
all  your  difficulties,  quietly  working  with  the  Master 
in  some  Heathen  land ! 

PO    NOT  SAY    "  The  Missionary  Society  will  not  accept 
me,  so  that  settles  the  question." 

Not  necessarily  at  all.  God  allows  the  rebuff 
very  likely  to  test  you.  If  He  sees  you  are  not  to 
be  daunted,  but  really  mean  to  go — somehow,  any- 
how, just  as  soon  as  God  lets  you — I  believe,  soorjci 
or  later.  He  will  let  you.      Or  He  will  show  you  be- 


42  "  DO   NOT   SAY. 

yond  a  doubt,  that  He  has  better  work  for  you  to  do 
where  you  are.  One  man  finds  THE  FRONT  DOOR 
CLOSED,  and  is  too  proud  or  too  lukewarm  to  try 
again,  or  to  try  another.  (Perhaps  it  is  a  good  thing 
for  the  Heathen  the  front  door  was  closed  !) 
Another  man  tries  the  door  again  and  again.  And 
if  that  door  will  not  open  he  tries  another.  Never 
does  he  think  of  giving  up  without  trying  every 
door  repeatedly.  And  then  he  goes  back  to  try 
once  more  !  Let  God,  and  the  Societies,  knozv  you  are 
in  earliest.     Something  will  happen  then. 

DO  NOT  SAY"  But  I  have  set  my  heart  upon  going  to  a 
particular  Place,  and  in  connection  with  a  particular 
Society.  If  the  way  does  not  open  for  this,  I  shall  not  go 
at  all." 

What  do  our  instructions  say  about  "  particular 
Places"  and  ''Societies?"  What  they  speak  of  is 
''  the  World,''  and  of  Men  ''  having  no  hope  and 
without  God  i7t  the  Worlds  If  you  can  bring  to  such 
men  the  knowledge  of  God,  and  ''  the  blessed  hope 
of  everlasting  life,"  are  you  justified  in  NOT  doing  so, 
because  they  are  not  the  particular  people  you  hap- 
pen to  have  taken  a  fancy  to?  Or  because  they 
do  not  live  in  the  country  you  have  set  your 
heart  upon  ?  Or  because  the  way  in  which  God 
is  willing  to  send  you,  is  not  the  one  most  to  your 
taste  ? 

Surely,  if  God  sets  before  you  an  open  door,  or 
a  possible  open  door,  to  the  Heathen,  you  must  not 
shut  your  eyes  to  it,  because  it  is  not  the  particular 


''  DO   NOT   SAY.  43 

door  you  were  thinking  of,  or  because  it  does  not 
I  lead  to  the  particular  spot  you  had  in  your  mind  ? 
Let  God  lead  you.  It  is  much  safer  than  wanting 
your  own  plans.  Indeed,  there  is  danger,  lest  while 
^  we  are  picking,  and  fancying,  and  choosing  for  our- 
selves, our  opportunity  slip  away,  and  we  be  sud- 
denly called  to  give  up  our  account  to  God,  with 
nothing  better  than  a  futile  bundle  of  good  inten- 
tions to  set  against  the  empty,  guilty  record  of  a  fit- 
ful wasted  life. 

DO  NOT  SAY  "  Yes,  I  will  go.  But  I  must  stay  at  Home 
for  a  year  or  two  first,  to  learn  Greek,  or  study  Medicine,  or 
gain  experience." 

''  I  will  go,  but  I  must  stay  !  "  Ah,  we  are  bound 
to  get  round  to  the  staying — somehow ! 

If  you  are  not  an  established  Christian,  instructed 
in  the  Scriptures,  truly  humble,  and  willing  to  learn, 
you  had  better  stay— far  better. 

But  if  you  have  proved  your  armor,  if  you  really 
do  KNOW  the  Lord,  if  you  are  "not  a  novice,"  but 
rooted  and  grounded  in  Christ,  so  that  you  will  not 
be  moved,  why  should  you  delay?  There  may  be 
special  reasons  why  it  may  be  better  to  do  so  in  your 
case.  But  pray  well  over  it  first.  Of  course  it 
would  be  very  nice  to  stop  at  home  and  learn  a  little 
of    everything.      BUT     WHILE    YOU    ARE    LEARNING 

IT,  THE  Heathen  are  perishing  at  the  rate  of 

SOMETHING  LIKE  FIFTY  THOUSAND  A  DAY  !  Why 
do  we  forget  the  awful  emergency,  and  take  tJiings 
so  leisurely  ? 


44  "  DO   NOT   SAY. 

As  for  real  trainmg^  tJiat  is  to  be  Jiad,  not  by  stop- 
ping long  at  Home,  but  i7i  the  Field  itself. 

And  how  many  who  begin  by  staying  at  home, 
end  by  never  going  to  the  Heathen  at  all!  Satan  is 
a  Master  worker i 


**  DO   NOT   SAY."  45 

CHAPTER  IV. 
PLENTY  TO  DO  AT  HOME. 

\Vb  V  call  ye  Me,  Lord,  Lord,  and  do  not  the  things  which  I 
saj?  " — Luke  vi,  46, 


DO  NOT  SAY  '*  But,  after  all,  there  is  plenty  to  do  at 
Home.  We  have  Heathen  at  our  very  doors,  without 
going  off  to  Africa  to  find  them.  We  had  better  stop  and 
convert  the  Home-Heathen  first." 

As  a  matter  of  fact,  the  ''  plenty  to  do  at  Home" 
has  quite  as  much  to  do  with  Home-Christians  as 
with  Home-Heathen.  Home-Christians  absorb  even 
more  time  (1  speak  what  I  know)  than  Home- 
Heathen.  So  the  remedy  is  simple.  Let  a  few 
thousands  of  Home-Christians  go  to  the  Heathen ! 
Then  many  of  our  Ministers  and  Missioners  (whose 
audiences  are  cJiiefly  Christians),  will  find  they  are 
no  longer  wanted  very  much  in  this  country,  and 
will  be  free  to  follow  their  congregations  to  the  Mis- 
sion Field,  while  those  who  remain  will  have  more 
time  than  they  have  now  to  devote  to  the  Home- 
Heathen. 

But,  to  speak  very  seriously,  have  we  any  right 
to  decide  for  ourselves  at  all  what  we  had  better  do? 
As  servants  and  not  masters,  had  we  not  better  do 
what  we  are  told  ?     And  what  are  our  instructions  ? 


46  "  DO    NOT   SAY.'* 

Are  we  told  NOT  '*  to  go  into  all  the  world,"  NOT  "  to 
preach  the  Gospel  to  every  creature,"  but  to  leave 
the  majority  of  our  fellow-men  without  the  possi- 
bility of  hearing  of  God's  love,  while  we  preach  to  the 
(comparatively)  few  people  over  and  over  again? 
Are  we  told  to  stop  and  ''  convert  all  the  people  at 
Home  "  before  we  give  others  a  chance  ?  If  so,  by 
all  means  let  us  obey.  And  if  there  should  be  a 
little  town  with  half  a  thousand  Christian  workers  in 
it,  and  one  of  them  should  be  misguided  enough  to 
talk  of  going  to  preach  the  Gospel  to  the  Heathen, 
let  us  be  down  upon  him  at  once,  and  show  him 
how  very  wrong  it  would  be  for  him  to  go,  seeing 
that  in  his  own  town,  perhaps,  might  still  be  found 
some  *'  Home-Heathen  "  lurking  there  ! 

But,  oh  !  if  these  are  notour  instructions  ;  if  our 
Master  (who  knew,  I  suppose,  that  there  would 
always  be  *'  plenty  to  do  at  Home  ")  has  told  us 
plainly  7wt  to  stay,  but  to  ''go  ";  and  to  preach  the 
Gospel  not  to  a  few,  but  ''  to  every  creature,"  why  are 
we  stopping  where  we  are,  instead  of  going  and 
doing  what  we  are  told  ? 

Do  we  speak  lightly  of  the  work  at  Home  ?  God 
forbid.  On  the  contrary,  the  solemn  importance  of 
the  work  at  Home  is  one  of  the  most  serious  aspects 
of  our  neglect  of  the  Heathen.     If  we  did  MORE 

ABROAD  THERE  WOULD  BE  LESS  TO  DO  AT  HOME  ! 
For  there  is  no  clash,  but  a  beautiful  symmetry  in 
God's  plan.  If  He  tells  us  to  go  to  the  Heathen, 
t.hen  we  cannot  disobey  without  impoverishing  our- 


"  DO   NOT   SAY."  4; 

selves.  Work  at  home,  CARRIED  ON  TO  THE  NEGLECT 
OF  THE  WORK  ABROAD,  is  weakness,  and  not 
strength.  How  many  of  the  evils  in  our  midst  to- 
day are  due  to  this  selfish  and  short-sighted  policy  ! 
Oh^  depend  upon  it^  the  best  thing  we  can  do  for  our 
own  loved  land  is  to  obey  God.  And  not  till  we  do 
obey  God  shall  we  see  the  showers  of  blessing  at 
Home  which  we  are  so  earnestly  pleading  and  work- 
ing for. 

DO  NOT  SAY  **  But,  surely,  America  is  the  uttermost 
part  of  the  earth  quite  as  much  as  China  or  any  other 
country  ?  " 

I  know  it  is.  But  is  there  a  man  in  this  country 
who  has  never  heard  the  Gospel?  Who  does  not 
know  there  is  any  Gospel  to  hear  of?  And  who  can- 
not hear  the  Gospel  if  he  will?  Is  not  the  Bible 
within  the  reach  of  all  who  choose  ? 

We  talk  of  our  Home  Heathen.  But  really  they 
are  not  Heathen.  I  know  something  about  them. 
I  have  worked  among  them.  Indifferent,  godless 
wicked— more  wicked,  perhaps,  than  many  Heathen 
— I  know  they  are.     BUT  THEY  ARE  NOT  HEATHEN. 

Do  you  doubt  what  I  say  ?  Then  bring  in  some 
of  the  very  worst,  the  very-most-Heathenish  people 
you  can  find  ajtywhere,  set  them  down  in  front  of 
you,  and  mention  one  word — "  Jesus  "!  Do  you  mean 
to  tell  me  they  will  not  know  in  the  least  what  you 
are  talking  about?  Why,  the  very  blasphemy  they 
utter  bears  witness  that  God  is  known  among  them  ! 

Our  Home-Heathen — when  they  pass  a  church, 


48  "  DO    NOT   SAY." 

and  hear  the  bells  ring,  do  they  look  up,  and  gaze, 
and  wonder  "Whatever  is  this  big  building?  What 
are  bells  ringing  for  ?  Why  are  people  going  inside  ?  '" 
They  know  perfectly  well,  of  course,  what  the  buildv 
ing  is,  and  why  the  people  are  going  in.  Or — to 
use  a  still  simpler  illustration — when  the  Salvation 
Army  marches  along  the  street,  do  these  "  Heathen 
at  Home  "  stand,  and  gape,  and  stare,  and  say  among 
themselves  "  Whatever  are  these  people  ?  Where 
are  they  going?  What  does  it  all  mean?"  Nay, 
there  is  not  a  man,  woman  or  child  amongst  them — 
no  matter  how  Heathenish  and  degraded  they  are — 
who  does  not  know  that  if  he  chooses  to  follow  that 
crowd  he  will  hear  something  about  a  soul  of  his, 
and  how  his  soul  may  be  saved.  Oh,  yes,  here  there 
is  a  Saviour  for  the  wickedest  people,  and  they  know 
it.  There  there  is  no  Saviour  for  anybody  that  they 
know  of.  Here  they  can  hear  if  they  will.  There 
they  CANNOT  hear.  And  here  they  do  not  worship 
sticks,  and  mud,  and  stones  as  they  do  there.  Be- 
sides, supposing  this  were  a  Heathen  country  (it 
might  have  been  if  St.  Augustine  and  others  had 
talked  about  their  "  Heathen  at  Home " !),  why 
should  tJwusands  of  Christians  stay  in  this  one  tiny 
corner,  and  only  wiits  go  to  the  vast  other  regions  of 
God's  world  ?  Do  answer —  Why  should  they?  And 
ask  yourself — Why  should  /  stay  here?  Why 
should  I  NOT  go  there  ? 

Who  ever  heard   of   a  minister  in  charge  of   a 
large  church  locating  himself  and  all  his  workers  in 


**  DO   NOT   SAY."  49 

one  street,  and  neglecting  all  the  rest,  his  excuse 
being  that  as  he  had  plenty  to  do  with  the  wicked 
people  still  left  in  the  one  street  near  his  own  door, 
he  could  not  be  expected  to  concern  himself  about 
the  others?  Imagine  such  a  man!  What  would 
you  say  of  him? 

We  are  God's  servants.  And  He  has  given  us 
the  World  for  our  charge.  What  right  have  we  to 
settle  down  in  one  little  country,  and  because  many 
of  the  people  here  persist  in  refusing  God's  oft- 
repeated  offer  of  salvation,  plead,  as  an  excuse  for 
doing  so  little  for  others,  that  ''  we  have  plenty  to 
do  at  home  "  ? 

We  have  no  right  to  neglect  the  people  next  our 
own  door.  But  in  our  determination  to  avoid  that 
error,  are  we  to  run  into  the  crime  of  neglecting 
everybody  else,  and  care  only  "  for  the  one  street  "  ? 

Supposing  an  epidemic  is  raging.  And  in  one 
single  city  there  are  i,ooo  medical  men,  possessed  of 
an  infallible  remedy,  whom  you  employ  to  go  through- 
out the  land  offering  the  medicine  to  everyone  who 
will  receive  it. 

Time  passes  on  ;  and  you  find  thousands  of 
people  dying  all  over  the  country  without  even  hav- 
ing heard  of  the  medicine.  You  go  in  search  of  your 
medical  men,  and  to  your  astonishment  you  find  999 
out  of  the  thousand  stopping  in  that  one  city,  four 
or  five  doctors  in  some  cases  attending  one  sick  per- 
son, and  others  sitting  at  home  doing  nothing,  be- 
cause they  l;ave  not  been  sent  for ! 

Do  Not  Say— 4 


50  "  DO   NOT   SAY. 

On  recovering  your  breath,  you  ask  what  they 
can  mean  by  such  extraordinary  and  wicked  conduct. 
And  they  gently  reply,  ''  It  is  all  right.  Pray  do  not 
disturb  yourself.  Everything  in  good  time.  But 
there  are  plenty  of  sick  people  where  we  are.  We 
have  not  managed  to  force  the  medicine  down  the 
throats  of  all  the  people  here  yet !  " 

Others  answer,  ''  No,  no.  The  people  here  can 
be  cured  if  they  will,  while  in  the  other  cities  and 
towns  yonder,  they  are  dying  off  without  a  chance. 
But  still,  you  know,  it  is  a  solemn  thing  to  leave 
home,  and  so,  although  there  are  trains  starting  every 
hour,  we  are  just  stopping  where  we  2S^^  waiting  for 
a  Special  Call  to  go  I '' 

What  patience  could  you  have  with  men  like 
that  ?  And  the  wonder  is  how  God  can  have 
patience  with  us. 

Oh !  I  want  to  tell  you  plainly,  if  I  may — but 
very  humbly — we  missionaries  cannot  think  why  you 
do  not  come.  We  cannot  think  why,  with  all  our 
Consecration  meetings,  and  much  talk  of  being 
willing  to  go  *' anywhere  for  Jesus,"  there  are  yet  so 
few  who  really  do  go,  where  we  cannot  but  believe 
He  wants  multitudes  of  His  servants  to  come.  Dear 
Christian  brothers,  and  sisters  too,  you  who  might 
come,  but  are  holding  back  (or  perhaps  not  giving 
it  a  thought !),  we  do  believe  you  are  wrong — 
utterly  wrong.  Here  are  thousands  of  you  stopping 
at  home,  where,  whether  you  go  or  stay,  the  Bible  and 
the    Gospel  are  ivithin  the  reach  of  all  who  choose. 


"  DO   NOT   SAY."  5  I 

And  across  the  water  are  many  hundreds  of  thou- 
sands of  our  brothers  and  sisters,  flesh  and  blood 
like  ourselves,  men  and  women,  aye,  and  little  chil- 
dren, real  people,  not  "  Creatures  "  nor  ''  Things,'' 
with  real  souls,  remember,  just  as  precious  as  yours, 
who  have  never  known  of  Jesus*  love — who  never  can 
know  if  you  do  not  go  to  them.  I  tell  you  honestly, 
many  of  us  think  you  are  making,  unconsciously, 
perhaps,  a  cruel  mistake.  We  do  not  want  to  judge. 
God  forbid.  But  that  is  our  conviction.  We  believe 
that  many  are  staying  at  home  who  ought  to  be 
preaching  the  Gospel  to  the  Heathen. 

Think  of  poor  India,  poor  China,  poor  Africa, 
poor  Malay  Peninsula,  poor  Persia,  Mongolia,  Thibet, 
Corea,  Japan,  and  many  more.  Then  the  Jews,  too 
— they  have  such  a  special  claim. 

It  is  easy  to  attend  Conventions  for  the  deepen- 
ing of  the  Spiritual  Life.  It  is  easy  to  sing  Conse- 
cration hymns.  It  is  easy  to  hold  up  your  hand 
and  say  you  are  willing  to  go  to  the  Heathen,  but 
it  is  another  thing  to  go  !  And  it  is  another  thing 
to  let  your  child  go ;  or  even  your  money.  Yet 
Consecration,  if  it  is  worth  anything,  will  bear  being 
tested.  And  the  Missionary  cause  does  test  us.  In 
response  to  God's  claims  upon  us  we  may  take  an 
interest  in  "  Christian  work  generally,  and  even 
j  double  our  subscriptions — and  go  on  living  comfort- 
ably at  home  as  we  did  before.  But  this  going  to 
the     Heathen!     This   parting   with    our   child!     It 

touches  us  in  a  vital  part ;     it  pulls  down  our  home 

i 
I 


52  "  DO   NOT   SAY. 

over  our  heads.     Ah,  this  is  a  real  test.      It  will^ 
COST   us    SOMETHING.      Now,  what   is  our    Conse- 
cration  good  for?     Is  it  still  an  unflinching    ''Yes, 
Lord  "  ?     Or  is  it  a  sad  retreat  under  some  plausible: 
excuse  ? 

We  talk  of  the  light,  and  consecration  and  enthu- 
siasm and  interest  in  Missions  of  the  present  day. 
But  with  it  all  Satan  is  able  to  lull  the  consciences  of 
God's  men,  and  God's  women,  with  specious  and 
beautiful  excuses,  ayid  keep  vast  districts,  perfectly 
accessible  to  us,  and  full  of  our  perishing  fellow-men, 
free,  still  free,  from  the  molestations  of  any  am- 
bassador of  Christ  —  all  undisturbed  in  his  ozvn^ 
power  I 

The  only  way  to  evangelize  the  HEATHEN^ 
IS  TO  GO  to  them.  And  God  has  told  us  to  go. 
But  we  do  not  go.  We  do  many  things,  but  we  do 
not  go !  And  so  the  Heathen  perish,  and  Satan 
laughs,  and  the  heart  of  God  is  sad. 

All  the  time  we  try  to  think  God  is  pleased  with 
us!  But  how  can  He  be  pleased  with  us  while  we, 
who  might  go,  stop  at  home,  or  keep  our  children  at 
home,  and  withhold  our  money,  instead  of  doing 
what  He  tells  us? 

Look  at  those  fears  and  excuses  of  yours,  my 
brother.  What  are  they  really  worth  ?  Why,  half 
of  them  are  mere  dressed-up  ghosts.  And  the  rest, 
— well,  many,  perhaps  most  of  them,  I  believe,  we 
should  be  quite  ashamed  of  in  any  other  cause  than 
the  cause  of  Christ.     But  in  the  service  of  Christ  any,; 


"DO   NOT   SAY."  53 

excuse  almost  is  good  enough  or  bad  enough.  We 
are  ready  to  jump  at  it,  put  it  on  a  pedestal,  reli- 
giously trot  it  out  on  every  occasion,  and  faithfully 
hide  ourselves  behind  it,  when  any  moving  appeal 
looks  in  our  direction.  Yes,  it  is  astonishing  how, 
with  a  little  nursing,  and  petting,  and  magnifying, 
we  can  bring  to  God,  with  a  most  complacent  con- 
science, excuses  which  in  time  of  war,  for  example, 
it  would  be  a  perfect  disgrace  to  mention.  •  Yet  we 
are  His  faithful  soldiers  all  the  same  !  And  we  ex- 
pect Him  to  applaud  us,  and  say  "  Well  done  "  when 
He  returns  ! 

But  how  can  He  say ''Well  done?"  Imagine 
our  Lord  turning  to  His  Church  to-day,  and  saying, 
"  Well  done,  good  and  faithful  servants."  Why, 
there  would  be  millions  of  sad,  neglected  Heathen 
standing  by  who,  with  one  accord,  would  testify 
against  us.  "  '  Well  done  *  to  know  of  a  Saviour 
themselves,  and  never  to  give  us  a  chance  ?  *  Well 
done '  to  stay  at  home,  and  feast  themselves  and 
their  children  to  the  full,  and  not  bring  us  and  our 
little  ones  even  a  crumb  ?  '  Well  done  '  to  keep  sing- 
ing of  the  joy  of  being  saved  from  Hell  and  of  going 
to  Heaven,  and  never  so  much  as  to  tell  us  there 
was  a  Hell  to  be  saved  from  or  a  Heaven  to  go  to !  " 
''  Well  done  ?  "  Nay,  disgracefully  done  !  He  can- 
not say  it. 

Oh,  it  is  hard  to  leave  these  our  brothers  and 

sisters  in  misery,  and  darkness,  and  sin,  with  no  one 

I  to  tell  them  of   the  Saviour's  pardoning  love  ;    with- 


54  "  DO   NOT   SAY." 

out  any  voice,  from  the  time  they  are  born  to  the 
time  they  die,  to  speak  one  word  to  them  of  wel- 
come to  God's  Home  of  Peace! 

And,  think  you,  is  not  God  grieved  and  disap- 
pointed with  us?  Does  He  not  mourn  over  us? 
And  can  He  ever  bless  us  and  the  work  in  the  be- 
loved Home  lands  properly,  as  long  as  we  are  diso- 
bedient, pleasing  ourselves,  and  making  all  sorts  of 
fair  excuses  for  not  going  to  the  Heathen,  when  per- 
haps the  real  reason  is,  we  do  not  like  to  go ! 

Ah,  there's  the  rub  !  If  we  really  WANTED  TO  GO, 
how  many  of  the  excuses  we  are  making  so  much  of 
would  be  sent  about  their  business,  and  never  be 
heard  of  again !  Whilst  quite  a  number  of  cogent 
reasons  why  we  could  go,  and  ought  to  go,  not 
thought  of  now,  would  soon  be  forthcoming  to  take 
their  place  ! 

Young  ministers!  You  who  cannot  possibly  go 
out  as  a  Missionary  on  account  of  home  ties  and  for 
other  reasons,  supposing  you  got  a  letter  to-day 
offering  you  a  Consul's  position  where  you  would  have 
also  large  opportunities  as  a  Christian  minister,  what 
would  you  do  ?  Would  you  go  ?  Then  why  not 
now? 

*'0h,  but  that  would  be  so  important,  such  an 
urgent  call."  Not  at  all.  If  you  declined,  someone 
else,  as  good  as  you,  would  soon  be  appointed.    But 

IF  YOU  DO  NOT  GO  TO  THE  HEATHEN,  NO  ONE  WILL 
TAKE  YOUR  PLACE,  AND  HUNDREDS  OF  YOUR  FEL- 
LOW-MEN  WHO   MIGHT   HAVE   HEARD   THE  GOSPEL 


"  DO   NOT   SAY."  5S 

\, 
FROM  YOUR  LIPS  WILL  DIE  WITHOUT  ONE  WHISPER 

OF  God's  love  ever  reaching  them  !  "-^ 

Man  of  business  !  Would  you  go  to  China  if  you 
were  offered  an  excellent  appointment  of  $10,000 
a  year  ?  Honestly,  now,  would  you  ?  Then  why  not 
now  ? 

Christian  Doctor !  Would  you  go  abroad  for  a 
first-class  Practice  in  an  attractive  Foreign  Settle- 
ment ?     Then  why  not  now  ? 

Christian  Parents !  Would  you  let  your  son  go  if 
it  was  to  be  Governor  General  of  some  foreign  State  ? 
Then  why  not  nozv  ?  Would  you  let  your  daughter 
go  for  an  excellent  marriage  ?  Then  why  not  now  ? 
There  may,  of  course,  be  a  good  reason.  Or  there 
may  be  a  very  bad  one  !  But,  however,  that  may  be 
in  your  case,  the  sad  truth  remains — (alas  that  we 
should  have  to  say  it !)  If  it  were  a  paltry  matter  of 
money  or  pleasure,  or  position,  crowds  of  Christians 
would  be  hurrying  to  Heathen  lands,  and  sending 
out  their  children  and  urging  forward  their  friends, 
until  the  steamers  would  not  suffice  to  bring  them. 
But  since  it  is  only  a  matter  of  doing  our  Master's 
bidding,  only  a  matter  of  saving  our  perishing  broth- 
ers and  sisters — ah,  well,  if  it  is  only  that,  '*We 
must  beg  to  be  excused."  **  We  cannot  possibly  go." 
"  Our  children  really  must  remain  at  home."  Alas  ! 
alas  !  what  a  strange  people  we  Christians  are  ! 

DO    NOT    SAY    •*  It  is  all  very  well,  but  they  must  live  ; 
even  Missionaries  cannot  feed  upon  air!" 

Does  it  come  to  this,  then,  that  we  Christians  are 


56  *'  DO   NOT   SAY." 

really  so  few  and  so  poor,  that  we  have  not  the  money 
wherewith  to  send  and  support  the  Missionaries? 

Why,  look  at  our  Churches  and  Chapels,  all  over 
the  country,  costmg  tens  and  hundreds  of  thousands^ 
when  places  of  worship,  if  not  so  magnificent,  yet 
quite  as  convenient^  and  quite  as  large,  might  be  built 
for  a  fraction  of  these  sums  !  Let  us  have  our  hand- 
some Churches  if  we  will,  but  not  at  the  expense  of 
millions  of  neglected  souls. 

Again,  look  at  our  houses,  our  lands,  our  posses- 
sions ;  our  entertainments,  our  amusements,  our 
recreations  ;  our  comforts,  our  luxuries,  our  extrava- 
gances !  Surely,  as  long  as  we  have  all  these  things 
for  ourselves,  which,  whether  desirable  or  otherwise, 
are  certainly  not  ?iecessary,  we  can  scarcely  plead 
with  any  honesty — *'  We  would  help  the  poor 
Heathen  if  we  could,  but  really  we  have  no  money  !  " 
No  money!  Nay,  God's  servants  have  plenty  of 
their  Master's  money.  But  they  are  not  willing  to 
part  with  it.  If  we  liked  to  give  the  money  we 
should  find  we  had  it  to  give.  If  we  wanted  to  send 
out  Missionaries  we  should  find  some  way  of  doing  it. 

Oh,  yes,  if  it  would  secure  social  advantages,  or 
if  it  were  SOMETHING  WE  CARED  FOR,  Christians 
would  soon  be  busy  writing  their  checks,  and  pour- 
ing their  silver  and  gold  into  the  treasury.  But  as 
it  is — "we  really  cannot  afford  it!"  True,  we  sing 
about 

.     .     .     my  silver  and  my  gold, 
Not  a  mite  would  I  withhold. 


"  DO   NOT   SAY."  57 

And,  perhaps,  a  7Htte  we  do  not  withhold.     But,  too 

often  (with  heaped-up  riches),  we  withhold  a//  the 
rest  !  We  think  we  may  lavish  as  much  as  we  please 
upon  ourselves,  while  we  expect  our  Master,  Who 
^ave  Himself  for  tis,  to  be  satisfied  with  any  little 
pittance  we  may  condescend  to  offer  Him  ! 

We  sing,  and  lustily  (for  is  it  not  one  of  our 
favorite  hymns  ?) — 

Were  the  whole  realm  of  nature  mine, 

That  were  an  offering  far  too  small. 
Love  so  amazing,  so  divine, 

Demands  my  soul,  mj  life,  my  all. 

And  then  we  give  Him  for  Foreign  Missions — one 
per  cent  of  our  income?  Nay,  but  (taking  the  aver- 
age) one  sixteenth  of  one  per  cent.  Oh,  why  do  we 
call  ourselves  God's  servants,  and  serve  Him  so 
badly? 

My  brother,  beware  how  you  rob  God.  Take 
care,  I  pray  you,  lest  in  seeking  to  save  your  life  you 
lose  it,  lest  in  seeking  to  save  your  money  it  vanishes 
away,  lest  in  seeking  to  save  your  children  they  are 
taken  from  you. 

Turn  with  me  for  one  moment  to  look  at  this  sad,  \^ 
dark  picture.  See  these  men  and  women  ignorantly 
bowing  down  before  fierce  monster  idols,  and  black 
foul  fiends  of  painted  wood,  and  mud,  and  stone ; 
torturing  themselves  with  loathsome  penances;  with 
debaucheries  unspeakable,  well-nigh  unthinkable, 
holding  religious  carnival ;  giving  the  rein  to  every  ' 
most  revolting  instinct  of  their  degraded  and  savage 


58  ''  DO   NOT   SAY." 

nature  ;*  vivisecting  little  children  ;  eating  one  anoth- 
er's flesh,  and  offering  human  sacrifices.  Look  at  it ! 
And  try  to  feel,  if  you  can,  /low  aivful  it  is  in  the 
sight  of  the  Holy  Loving  God  and  Father.  Now 
turn  to  this  other  picture,  sadder  and  darker  still. 
Look  at  these  men  and  women  in  Christian  lands,  in 
the  full  blaze  of  Gospel  light  and  knowledge ;  rejoic- 
ing themselves  in  the  Saviour's  pardoning  love  and 
power ;  purchased  with  the  price  of  the  Blood  of 
God's  dear  Son  :  redeemed  unto  Himself  that  He 
might  send  them  forth  as  His  ambassadors  into  the 
dark  places  of  the  earth  ;  look  at  them,  knowing  of 
their  brethren's  need,  and  perfectly  able  to  go  to 
their  deliverance — sitting  at  home  unmoved! 

Aye,  think  of  God  turning  from  the  poor  de- 
graded Heathen  to  His  own  dear  children  for  sym- 
pathy, and  finding  that,  while  we  are  indeed  making 
great  show  of  loyalty  to  Him,  declaring  ourselves 
ready  to  do  anything,  or  go  anywhere  in  His  Name 
if  He  calls  us,  we  are  not  really  willing,  but  are 
deciding  for  ourselves  that  he  does  not  call  us 
(though  He  may  call  our  neighbors)  to  do  much 
more  than  pretend  to  lament  over  the  state  of  the 
Heathen,  while  we  spend  our  lives,  and  our  money, 
and  our  energies,  in  making  ourselves  and  our  chil- 
dren as  comfortable  as  we  can  at  Home ! 

Ah,  I  believe  not  there,  *'  In  Darkest  Africa,"  but 


*  See  "Garenganze,"  by  F.  S.  Arnot,  page  75.     (Published 
by  Revell.) 


"  DO   NOT   SAY.**  59 

right  here,  where  you,  dear  child  of  God,  are  living 
your  civilized,  beautiful,  religious  life — BUT  REFUS- 
ING TO  LET  GOD  HAVE  HiS  WAY  WITH  YOU — it  is 
here  that  the  heart  of  God  is  most  sorely  grieved — 
robbed  and  wounded  in  the  house  of  His  friends. 
Oh,  Saviour  !  Master !  how  wonderful  is  Thy  patience 
with  us ! 

"God  so  loved  .  .  .  that  He  gave"!  Is  it 
not  just  this — the  love  of  God — that  we  want? 
Some  people  so  love  that  they  do  not  give.  That  is 
not  God's  love.  Some  people  so  love  that  they  give 
a  little,  but  they  do  not  give  much.  That  is  not 
God's  love.  Some  people  so  love  that  they  give 
their  money  but  they  will  not  give  themselves. 
Again,  that  is  not  God's  love.  And  some  people 
there  are  (oh,  how  one  feels  for  them !)  who  are  will- 
ing to  give  themselves  and  their  money,  yes,  all  that 
they  possess — but  they  are  not  willing  to  take  their 
child  and  send  her  off  in  God's  Name  to  China  I 
Ah !  then  that  is  not  God's  love,  for  "■  God  so 
loved  THE  WORLD  that  He  gave  His  only  begotten 

Son  r 

Oh,  for  the  LOVE  OF  GOD— the  love  of  God — 
to  come  in  and  fill  our  hearts  !  We  shall  GIVE  then  I 
— not  a  little  of  what  we  can  spare,  but  much  of 
what  we  can  not  spare!  Yes,  much,  very  much — our- 
selves, our  money,  our  children,  all  we  are  and  all 
we  have — will  be  laid  on  God's  altar,  really  laid 
there,  and  not  taken  back.  And  will  the  poor 
Heathen  then  be  left  to  die  like  dogs  as  if  they  had 


V 


60         •  "  DO    NOT   SAY." 

no  souls?  Nay!  But  we  shall  go  to  them,  and  our 
children  will  go,  and  our  money  will  go — and,  at  last, 
right  through  the  world,  in  village  and  town,  o'er 
mountain  and  plain,  in  nook  and  cranny  wherever 
man  is  found,  shall  ring  out  the  old,  old  Story  of 
Jesus  and  His  love.  And  (blessed  hope)  lifting  up 
our  eyes  we  mav  see  His  appearing ! 


**  DO  NOT  SAY.'  6l 


CHAPTER  V. 
MORE  MISSIONARIES. 

*' There  is  that  scattereth  and  yet  increaseth  ....  There  is 
that  maketh  himself  poor,  yet  hath  great  riches."— Prov. 
xi,  24;  xiii,  7. 


In  view  of  the  awful  pressing  need  of  hundreds 
of  workers  in  the  vast  Mission  Fields  the  dilatory 
process  of  sending  out  ones  and  twos  is  wholly  inade- 
quate and  unreasonable.  We  must  stream  out  to 
the  Heathen — crowds  of  us — if  we  really  mean  in 
God's  Name  to  reach  them,  and  to  preach  the  Gos- 
pel, as  He  has  told  us,  to  every  creature.  Men  and 
women  must  come  from  all  classes  of  society  and 
from  all  kinds  of  work.  No  help  can  be  considered 
insignificant  where  the  dearth  of  laborers  is  so  ap- 
palling. 

Yet  there  are  some  dear  brethren  and  sisters  who  X 
are  willing  to  go  to  the  Heathen  for  whom,  alas ! 
there  is  no  welcome !  They  have  no  means,  and  we 
have  our  prejudices.  We  fear  they  are  not  educated 
enough.  We  fear  they  could  not  learn  the  language. 
We  fear  they  are  too  old.  We  fear  their  health 
would  fail.  We  fear  they  might  die.  We  fear  their 
friends  will  blame  us.  We  fear  they  might  join  a 
sect.     We  fear  they  have  fads.     We  fear  their  zeal 


62  *'  DO   NOT   SAY." 

may  carry  them  too  far.  We  are  full  of  fears !  And 
besides  that,  we  will  not  give  the  money  to  send 
them.  And  so  we  reject  them  one  after  another 
when  they  offer  to  go !  Some  are  of  course  quite 
unsuitable.  But  others  would  be  really  useful,  and 
are  sorely  needed. 

Let  us  not  blame  the  Missionary  Societies  too 
much.  With  their  limited  funds,  they  cannot  send 
everybody,  and,  naturally  they  choose  the  best.  The 
others  have  to  stay  at  home.  Meanwhile  the 
Heathen  are  perishing  by  tens  of  thousands  a  day 
for  the  lack  of  them  I    It  is  heart-rending. 

That  Christians  should  be  so  little  moved  by  the 
facts  they  hear,  and  that  so  few  should  be  willing  to 
go  to  the  Heathen,  is  sad  enough.  And  then  that 
of  the  few  who  are  willing,  any  who  are  spiritually 
qualified  (no  others  are  wanted)  should  be  kept  back, 
for  the  lack  of  their  passage  money,  and  a  small  allow- 
ance each  year  to  support  them,  is  intolerable. 
Surely  the  Church  of  Christ  ought  to  send  out  not 
merely  a  few  of  the  best  educated,  but  ALL  who  are 
in  any  way  suitable  ? 

A  good  education  is  a  good  gift  of  God  to  those 
who  possess  it.  But  with  the  Heathen  perishing 
before  our  eyes,  if  we  keep  back  mature  and  well 
tested  Christians  until  they  can  conjugate  Greek 
verbs  and  master  '*  theology,"  is  it  not  much  like  Nero 
fiddling  whilst  Rome  is  burning?  God  has  used 
unlearned  men,  all  along,  in  the  Mission  Field.  He 
is  using  them  to-day.     They  can  learn  the  language 


"  DO   NOT   SAY.".  5- 

and  become  successful  missionaries,  because  it  has 
been  proved  that,  by  God's  grace,  many  of  them  do. 
We  have  been  trying  to  evangeh'ze  the  Heathen 
with  a  few  picked  officers  at  great  expense.  The  re- 
sult is,  that  after  all  these  years,  vast  Heathen  dis- 
tricts have  never  been  touched.  And  at  the  present 
rate  of  progress  (with  some  of  us)  they  are  not  likely 
to  be  touched  for  generations  more. 

We    must    have  -  men "  as   well   as  '*  officers." 
(Women  of  course  make  excellent  *'men,"  and  "  offi- 
cers  "  too,  sometimes  !)     The  emergency  is  so  great 
that  we  want  all  who  would  be  of  any  use.     Seeing 
that  the  young,  and  the  strong,  and  the  gifted  are 
not  willing  in  anything  like  sufficient  numbers,  {why 
are  they  holding  back  so  terribly?)  shall  we  not  send 
out  those  true  souls  who  are  willing,  even  if  in  some 
minor  respects  they  are  deficient?  Give  them  a  little 
training.    And  then  let  them  go  and  do  what  they 
can.     If  they  cannot  be  as  useful  as  others  who  are 
better  qualified,  yet    they  are    God's    obedient  chil- 
dren,  and  will  be  far  more  useful  than  nobody  /    It  is 
deplorable  that  people  who  would  be  useful,  are  not 
able  to  go,  because  the  funds  are  limited,  and   the 
preference   must  be  given  to  the  younger  or  better 
qualified  candidates.     We  want  them  all.     (It  [^ 
idle  to  say  the  Natives  must  do  the  work.    We  have 
to  get   the    Natives    first.)    When    I    went  up   the 
Yang-tze  rapids  we  had  to  be  pulled.     Of  course  the 
strong  and  experienced  boatmen  were  the  most  use- 
ful.    But  there  were   not  enough    of   them.     So  a 


64  "DO   NOT   SAY." 

number  of  others — some  of  them  not  very  strong  nor 
very  experienced — were  called  for.  Anybody  who 
could  pull  at  all  was  better  than  nobody  in  the  emer- 
gency. And  so  we  got  up  the  rapids.  If  we  had 
discarded  the  aid  of  these  humbler  men,  and  waited 
till  everybody  was  experienced,  we  might  have 
waited  to  this  hour  at  the  foot  of  the  rapids; 
just  as  countless  Heathen  are  waiting,  for  the  lack  of 
simple  men  and  women — ANY  ONE  WHO  CAN  PULL 
— to  come  and  help  them  to-day. 

Let  this,  however,  be  most  carefully  remembered : 
A  man,  be  he  educated  or  ignorant,  who  is  not  a  real 
backbone  Christian  is  of  no  use.  He  cannot  pull. 
He  would  be  a  dead  weight,  and  have  to  be  pulled 
himself.  But  if  he  isd.  humble  faithful  child  of  God, 
whatever  else  he  is  not,  he  can  at  any  rate  pull  a 
little.  And  face  to  face  with  the  awful  need,  surely 
anyone  who  can  pull  a  little  is  better  than  none  at 
all !.  Besides  how  can  we  know  ?  God  often  uses  the 
weak  things  most. 

Again,  why  reject  dear  children  of  God  on  ac- 
count of  their  age?  One  of  the  felt  wants  in  the 
Mission  Field  is  of  older  Christians  with  their  riper 
experience.  It  is  objected — **  They  could  never  learn 
the  language  properly."  Then  let  them  learn  the 
language  improperly  I  To  know  the  language  well 
is  better  than  to  know  it  badly.  We  all  admit  that. 
But  to  know  the  language  badly  is  ever  so  much 
better  than  to  stop  in  this  country,  and  not  know  it 
at  all !     Why  do  we  not  see  this? 


"DO    NOT   SAY."  65 

But  we  may  make  too  much  of  the  language. 
Let  these  dear  people  come  and  encourage  the 
younger  missionaries.  Let  them  be  daily  examples 
to  the  native  Christians.  Let  them  come  and  win 
the  Heathen  by  love.  Will  anyone  say  that  such 
lives,  and  the  money  spent  on  them,  are  thrown 
away  ?  Then  why  reject  them  because  they  are  '^  too 
old  to  learn  the  language?  "  I  tell  you,  we  want  \.\i^^^ 
people.  And  they  would  probably  stand  the  climate 
all  the  better  because  they  were  not  very  young. 

Once  more,  with  the  call  of  God,  and  the  cry  of 
the  Heathen  in  our  ear,  is  it  right  to  be  too  partic- 
I  ular  on  the  score  of  Health  ?  It  is  right  to  be  care- 
ful. God  does  not  want  us  to  be  foolhardy.  But 
to  reject  men  altogether  who  are  strong  enough  to 
stand  the  wear  and  tear  of  noisy,  bustling  America, 
and  who  perhaps  have  a  good  medical  certificate  in 
their  pocket,  because  another  doctor,  for  very  ex- 
plicable reasons,  does  not  care  to  be  responsible  for 
them,  seems  to  me  like  caution  run  mad !  It  would 
be  excusable  if,  with  our  caution,  we  were  doing  the 
work  entrusted  to  us.  But  to  keep  such  people  from 
going,  if  we  are  able  to  send  them,  and  leave  the 
Heathen  to  die  uncared  for,  is  surely  not  caution 
but  neglect  ? 

Besides,  those  who  cannot  go  to  one  country, 
why  can  they  not  be  sent  to  another?  If  it  would 
be  imprudent  for  a  man  to  go  to  tropical  India,  why, 
on  that  account,  must  he  be  rejected  altogether?  Is 
there  no  part  of  all  the  Heathen  or  Mohammedan 

Do  Not  Say— 5 


66  "  DO   NOT   SAY.' 


world  where  he  can  live  ?  Why  cannot  the  MissioiV 
ary  Societies  (who,  between  them,  work  in  all  cli 
mates)  co-operate  and,  in  certain  cases,  pass  on  cam 
didates  from  one  to  the  other,  according  to  thti 
cHmate  desired  ? 

Oh  !  are  we  really  burning  for  the  message  tc 
reach  our  fellow-men  before  they  die,  when  we  dis 
courage  (perhaps  lightly)  any  true  disciples  who  arr 
willing  to  carry  it  to  them?  Most  solemnly  do 
believe,  if  the  emergency  in  something  of  its  vivic 
reality  could  be  brought  home  to  us,  so  that  we  coulc 
see  it  and  feel  it,  we  could  no  more  discourage  these 
willing  people  from  going  to  the  Heathen  than  wc 
could  discourage  the  Life-boat  Sailors  from  going  tci 
the  sinking  ship  !  There  maybe  risk.  But  the  emeri 
gency  justifies  it — nay,  calls  for  it !  It  is  always  i 
risk,  humanly  speaking,  when  David  goes  againsi 
Goliath.  But  let  us  not  vote  him  back  to  the  sheep 
fold,  and  leave  the  people  to  be  enslaved,  and  the 
giant  to  glory  in  his  boasting.  It  is  the  Lord'i 
cause.     We  have  His  arm  to  lean  upon. 

Oh  !  I  am  persuaded  if  God's  people  were  only 
awake  and  on  fire,  even  moderately,  we  should  (with- 
out going  off  our  heads)  quietly  put  aside  a  great 
many  of  our  prudent  considerations,  and  just  go  tc 
the  Heathen  whether  zve  lived  or  died  I 

Finally,  some  cannot  go,  though  very  suitable, 
because  their  denomination  is  wrong  !  They  are  not 
quite  Presbyterian  enough,  or  not  quite  Episcopalian 
enough,  or  Methodist,  or  whatever  it  is  they  ought 


]| 


*•  DO    NOT   SAY."  6j 

to  be.  But  what  does  it  matter  ?  We  go  to  the 
Heathen  not  to  preach  '^  Church,"  but  "  Christ "  ; 
not  to  bring  them  to  our  Denomination,  but  to 
Jesus.  And  an  EpiscopaHan  man  can  do  that  as 
well  as  a  Methodist,  or  a  Presbyterian  as  well  as  a 
Baptist.  That  any  should  be  kept  back  on  De- 
nominational grounds  is  worse  than  deplorable.  It 
would  be  easy  to  arrange  that  those  who  worked  to- 
gether in  a  District  were  of  the  same  mind.  And 
there  are  plenty  of  Districts — for  everybody  ! 

True,  many  Churches  now-a-days  have  their  own 
Missionary  Society.  And  there  are  some  Missions 
(notably  the  China  Inland  Mission  and  the  North 
Africa  Mission)  who  never  refuse  to  send  spiritual 
men  to  the  Heathen  on  account  of  their  Denomi- 
nation. But  in  spite  of  this,  until  Missionary  So- 
cieties are  better  supported  than  some  of  them  are, 
and  until  they  open  their  doors  a  little  wider  in  all 
directions  than  some   of  them  do,  numbers  of  men 

)[  and  women  who  might  be  usefully  preaching  the  Gos- 
pel to  the   Heathen  are  likely  to  be  kept  at  home. 
Writing  as  a  Missionary,  I  cannot  refrain  from 

■  saying  how,  from  my  heart,  I  deplore  the  plan  of 
each  Denomination  sending  out  exclusively  its  own 
members  to  establish  each  its  own  Church  in 
Heathen  lands.  Let  us  thank  God  the  Church  we 
individually  belong  to  is  as  good  as  it  is,  and  try  to 
make  it  better.  But  in  preaching  the  Gospel  to 
^ther  races,  seeing  it  is  unlikely  our  own  particular 
form  of  Worship  and  Church  government   are   in 


68  *'  DO   NOT   SAY." 

every  way  the  best  for  them,  and  seeing  that  the 
need  of  true  workers,  irrespective  of  Denomination, 
is  so  tremendous,  why  may  not  our  Missionary  So- 
cieties forget  such  distinctions,  and  send  out  all  the 
faithful  servants  of  God  they  can  ?  Surely  they 
would  be  far  more  noble  and  Christlike  Missionary 
Societies  for  our  Churches  to  rejoice  over,  and  they 
would  accomplish  wider  good. 

To  me  this  position  seems  so  perfectly  reason- 
able. Yet  I  see  good  men,  deeply  taught  of  God, 
who  feel  differently,  and  who,  in  stoutly  champion- 
ing each  his  own  Church,  are  helping  I  fear  to  propa- 
gate our  unhappy  divisions  in  other  lands.  I  grieve 
for  the  Heathen  ;  I  grieve  for  the  Native  Churches. 
But  I  dare  not  judge  my  brethren. 

There  is  a  difficulty  I  well  know,  for  wherever 
we  go  there  must  be  an  outward  Church.  And  if 
the  outward  Church  is  not  elastic  enough  to  include 
within  its  fold  all  the  true  members  of  Christ's  spiri- 
tual Church,  then — unless  men  are  to  compromise 
their  consciences — there  must  be  several  outward 
Churches.  This  is  unhappily  the  case  with  us  in  this 
country.  But  in  going  to  new  countries  why  may 
we  not — profiting  by  our  past  experience — hope  for 
an  outward  Church  which,  while  steadfastly  reject- 
ing all  false  doctrine,  shall  allow  the  fullest  liberty 
to  its  members  in  matters  of  Church  government, 
and  in  all  other  things  which  are  not  really  vital  f 

However,  this  is  only  by  way  of  parenthesis. 
Now  what  does  it  all  amount  to?   Just  this.     After 


"  DO   NOT   SAY."  69 

traveling  in  the  interior  of  China,  and  for  the  first 
time  reahzing  a  little  bit  what  the  state  of  things  is, 
and  the  absolute  necessity,  IF  THE  WORLD  IS  EVER 
TO  BE  EVANGELIZED,  for  hundreds  of  plain,  simple 
people  (of  all  Denominations),  in  addition  to  the 
gifted  and  well-educated,  to  come  and  live  in  a  plain, 
simple  way,  and  preach  the  plain,  simple  Gospel,  it 
cuts  me  to  the  heart  that  any  true  man  or  woman 
who  is  willing  should  be  unable  to  come.  It  really  is 
too  sad.  Will  not  the  Church  of  Christ  wake  up, 
and  send  out  quickly  those  of  her  true  soldiers  (they 
are  but  few !)  who  are  ready  to  go  ?  What  is  to  be 
done  ?  Servants  of  God,  to  whom  He  has  entrusted 
His  mo7uy,  ponder  it.  What  is  to  be  done?  It  is 
heartless  to  plead  for  workers,  and  when  they  come, 
to  say  we  will  not  have  them  ! 

Are  we  Christians?  If  so,  do  let  us  think.  If 
we  think,  we  shall  be  bound,  a  great  many  more  of 
us,  to  go  to  the  Heathen,  and  to  let  our  children 
go,  and  to  give  our  money — if  zvc  are  real. 

Throughout  the  land  let  Christian  workers  be- 
stir themselves  to  use  their  influence,  to  labor,  and 
to  give,  as  God  enables  them.  It  is  an  awful  thing, 
in  the  solemn  emergency,  for  any  servant  of  God  to 
be  forgetting  the  Heathen,  or  for  any  man  who  calls 
himself  a  Christian  to  content  himself  with  giving 
his  paltry  trifles,  when,  God  knows,  if  he  chose,  he 
could  give  liberally,  and  himself  be  supporting 
several  Missionaries  in  the  Mission  Field. 

Let  every    family  raise    at    least    $250    a  year, 


70  "  DO   NOT   SAY. 

which  is  enough  in  inland  China,  and  have  its  repre- 
sentative. Let  each  Congregation,  Association, 
Union,  send  forth  at  least  one  of  its  members.  (The 
cost  of  some  might  be  divided  into  shares,  and 
small  Associations  could  take  one  or  more  shares,  if 
unable  to  take  the  whole.  Let  Sunday  school  chil- 
dren bring  their  pennies  every  week — from  father 
one  week,  from  mother  one  week,  from  himself  one 
week,  and  so  on — and  have  ''  The  Children's  Mis- 
sionary." For  it  only  wants  a  little  system  and  de- 
termination for  every  living  Congregation  and  Asso- 
ciation to  have  its  representative,  or  its  definite  share 
in  one,  working  among  the  Heathen. 

With  a  little  organizing,  so  many  idle  trifling 
sums  might  be  gotten  together,  and  utilized  for 
sending  out  more  Missionaries.  And  ''  more  Mis- 
sionaries "  is  what  we  want.  The  best  way  by  far 
to  help  is  to  send  out  "  more  Missionaries."  Con- 
centrate your  energies  and  your  money  upon  this — 
**  more  Missionaries."  Other  objects  are  very  good, 
and  it  is  very  tempting  to  us  to  ask  for  them.  But 
nothing  can  take  the  place  of  "  more  Missionaries." 
The  Heathen  world  is  '*  dying  without  God "  for 
lack  of  "  more  Missionaries."  Supporting  native 
Catechists,  however  good  or  necessary,  as  it  often  is, 
is  not  the  same  thing.  TJicy  will  be  there,  and  wit- 
nessing for  Christ,  if  they  are  fit  to  be  employed, 
whether  you  support  them  as  Catechists  or  not. 
But  the  '^ More  Missionaries''  will  not  be  there  if 
you  do  not  send  them. 


"DO   NOT   SAY."  71 

Thousands  of  natives  who  to-day  might  be  Hving 
and  preaching  Christ  amongst  their  fellow-men,  are 
doing  nothing  (worse  than  nothing,  for  they  are 
Heathen  themselves),  because  we  have  not  sent  out 
"  more  Missionaries  "  to  gather  them  in. 

Beloved  Fellow-Ministers  !    Bear  with  me  if  I  say 
a  word  expressly  to  you,  for,   indeed,  we  are  not 
half  awake,  nor  on  fire,  as  we  should  be.     Are  you 
not  responsible  for  teaching  your  people  ''  to  observe 
all  things   whatsoever  I  have    commanded   you "  ? 
Has  He  not  commanded   us  to  preach  the  Gospel 
throughout  the  world?    Why   do   you    teach   your 
people    (quite    rightly)  to  observe   the   Sacraments 
I  and  other  things,  but   never  teach  them  to  observe 
this  last  command,  which   surely  is  a  command  as 
much  as  any  other?     Do  let  it  be  one  of  your  chief 
duties  to  preach   Missionary   Sermons,  to  circulate 
Missionary    literature,  to   have    Missionary    Prayer 
Meetings,  to  form  your  praying  people  into  a  Mis- 
sionary Union,  and  to  seek  out  from  amongst  them 
faithful  young  men    and    women    for   the    Mission 
Field.     Be  thoroughly  satisfied  that  they  are  true, 
dependable  Christians,  real  soiiUv inner s.     Then  en- 
courage them  ;  train  them ;  send  them   up  to   the 
Missionary  Societies;  interest  your  people  in  them; 
do  whatever  you  think  best— ^^z/j/  see  that  they  really 
do  go  to  the  Heathen,     And,  if  possible,  lead  the  way, 
and  go  yourself.     Remember,  seventy  of  your  people 
giving  a  penny  a  day  will  provide  the  money  for  one 
Missionary. 


72  "  DO   NOT   SAY." 

Oh,  how  many  simple  Missionaries  might  you 
not  have  the  joy  of  helping  into  the  Mission  Field, 
if  you  were  to  become  heart  and  soul  in  earnest 
about  it !  And  how  big  would  be  your  own  blessing, 
and  the  blessing  of  your  people  !  But  as  it  is,  year 
after  year  passes,  and  from  very  many  Christian 
congregations,  never  so  much  as  one  Missionary — 
man  or  woman — goes  forth  in  Jesus'  Name  to  the 
poor  idol-stricken  peoples.  The  Master's  command 
is  unheeded,  and  the  Heathen  are  left  to  perish. 
Oh !  do  send  out  more  Missionaries,  hundreds  of 
them,  quickly.  Only  take  care  they  are,  every  one  of 
them,  true  and  tried  men  and  women  of  God,  who 
know  how  to  be  patient — and  how  to  love. 

Let  35  Christians  be  responsible  for  a  postage 
stamp  a  day,  and  one  of  them  go.  Let  40  Christians 
take  a  piece  of  bread  for  dinner  once  a  week,  and 
have  their  representative  go — one  of  themselves. 
Let  25  Christians  start  "  a  Do-Without  Box,"  and 
have  their  Missionary.  Will  you  be  one?  Can 
anything  be  done  for  God's  glory  by  living  a  little 
less  comfortably  ?  By  giving  our  children  a  very 
good,  but  less  fashionable  education  ?  Remember 
an  unnecessary  horse  and  carriage  eat  up  two  Mis- 
sionaries. Extravagant  dressing  smothers  not  a 
few.  A  useless  hobby  runs  away  with  a  missionary's 
rent.  A  fire  you  could  *'  do  without "  burns  up  his 
clothes.  Conventional  dinner  parties  demolish  his 
food.  Many  Missionaries  are  frittered  away  in  odds 
and  ends.     Some  are  worn  on  ladies'   fingers,   and 


**  DO   NOT   SAY."  73 

locked  up  in  jewel  caskets.  And  many  are  smoked 
away  through  Christians'  tobacco  pipes.  What  can 
be  done  to  rescue  some  of  these  ?  Who  will  organ- 
ize something?  You  will  find  the  Missionary 
Bureau  an  excellent  medium  of  linking  yourself  with 
others  and  for  obtaining  information. 

Anyone  who  has  $250  a  year,  and  who  knows 
how  to  be  careful,  may  come  at  his  own  charges. 
Let  those  who  have  more  come  themselves,  and 
bring  others  with  them.  Some  might  get  em- 
ployment abroad,  or  work  at  their  own  crafts, 
and  thus  be  self-supporting  Missionaries.  Think  of 
this. 

And  surely  in  some  way  God  will  devise  means 
of  taking  care  of  all  His  children  who  go  forth  (not 
lightly)  in  dependence  on  Him,  and  in  obedience  to 
His  command. 

Fellow-Christians !  This  is  our  responsibility ! 
There  are  means  enough,  and  there  are  enough  of 
us  to  evangelize  the  world.  But  we  are  7iot  awake  / 
The  world  is  dying  without  God.  And  we  might  go 
to  them.  We  might,  but  we  don't  I  Oh,  why  are 
we  not  heart-broken  ?  Why  are  we  not  on  our  faces 
in  the  dust  ?  Why  do  not  these  things  move  us  ? 
Why  do  we  not  do  something  ?  My  brothers  and  sis- 
ters, what  will  you  do  ?  Will  not  you  do  something  ? 
Will  you  go  and  settle  this  with  God  ?  Settle  it 
with  God, — yes,  with  God,  whose  matter  this  is : 
*'To  whom  all  hearts  are  open,  from  whom  no 
secrets  are  hid."     Settle  it  with  Him. 


74  "  DO   NOT   SAY." 

He  is  coming — your  Saviour,  your  Master.  He 
is  coming  to  His  servants,  one  after  another,  to  put 
His  hand  upon  each,  to  look  into  each  face,  and  say, 
"  My  child,  tell  me  now  all  that  thou  art  doing — all 
that  thou  art  doing  to  let  thy  poor  brothers  and  sis- 
ters in  the  Heathen  lands  know  that  I  love  them." 
It  is  your  turn  now.  He  is  coming  to  you.  He  is 
putting  His  pierced  hand  upon  j^^z^r  shoulder.  He  is 
looking  straight  into  your  face.  His  tender,  search- 
ing, wondrous  eyes  are  fixed  upon  you.  Oh,  brother! 
is  it  all  right?  Sister!  is  it  all  right?  Can  you 
look  up  brightly  into  His  dear  face,  and  say, 
"  Saviour  !  Master  !  Thou  knowest  ?  These  others 
know  not.  But  Thou  knowest.  Thou  knowest  that 
my  heart  is  right  ;  that  I  am  keeping  nothing 
back.  Thou  knowest  that  by  Thy  grace  I  am  doing 
Thy  will  fully  for  the  perishing  Heathen  whom 
Thou  lovest." 

Or  would  you  feel  ashamed  ?  Would  you  rather 
He  passed  you  by? 

Face  to  face  with  God,  do  those  good  reasons 
which  hitherto  have  satisfied  you  that  you  "  really 
have  no  time,"  that  you  "  cannot  afford  to  do  more," 
that  "your  place  is  at  home,"  seem  to  be  scarcely 
more  than  idle  excuses  ?  That  conclusive  argument 
against  your  going,  or  against  your  child  going  (or 
your  sister),  which  you  have  been  putting  between 
you  and  every  solemn  appeal,  does  it  seem  a  little 
less  satisfactory  now?  That  "home  tie"  which  has 
been   keeping  you  back,  would   you  hardly  like  to 


**  DO   NOT   SAY."  75 

mention  it  now  to  Him  who  left  all  and  gave  up  His 
life  for  you,  and  who  says:  "Whosoever  loveth 
father  or  mother  more  than  Me  is  not  worthy  of 
Me"? 

"  The  "  good  Providence  of  God  which  is  order- 
ing your  path  at  home" — now  that  His  eye  is  upon 
you,  have  you  an  uncomfortable  suspicion  that  it  is 
not  His  Providence  at  all,  but  your  own  ordering, 
because  you  do  not  wayit  to  go  ? 

Do  you  feel  you  cannot  lift  up  your  head  and 
look  quite  straight  into  His  face — because  He  knows  ? 
He  knows  your  heart.  And  He  knows,  and  you 
know,  that  you  are  not  fully  willing  to  do  His  will. 
You  have  not  faced  the  question,  aud  you  do  not 
want  to  face  it.  Oh,  dear  brother,  is  it  so  ?  Then 
go  to  Him,  and  tell  Him  all  about  it.  Tell  Him 
that  you  love  your  money,  and  cannot  give  it  up. 
Tell  Him  how  hard  it  would  be  to  leave  your  home, 
and  friends,  and  go  far  away  to  a  Heathen  land. 
Tell  Him  how  your  heart  sickens  at  the  very  thought. 
Tell  Him  about  your  children,  or  your  sister,  or 
brother — that  you  could  not  bear  to  see  them  go. 
Tell  Him  how  it  would  break  your  heart  to  take  that 
child  of  yours,  dearer  to  you  than  life,  and  send  her 
off  to  Africa  or  China.  Tell  Him  you  cannot  do  it. 
Anything  else,  but  not  that.  Tell  Him  so.  He  will 
not  be  hard  upon  you.  He  understands.  He  loves 
you.  Oh,  how  He  feels  for  you  !  But,  "  He  that  will 
save  his  life  shall  lose  it."  You  can  never  be  happy 
while  you  are  seeking  to  save  yourself.     No  satisfy- 


76  "DO   NOT    SAY." 

ing  joy  and  peace  can  be  yours,  whilst  you  ha\  c 
SOMETHING  TOO  PRECIOUS  to  give  to  Jesus.  He 
cannot  use  you  as  He  would  whilst  you  arc 
taking  your  own  way.  And  you  can  never  be  a  joy 
to  the  dear  Master,  as  long  as  you  are  afraid  to  tru.st 
Him,  and  are  holding  something  back.  Ah,  then, 
tell  Him  this  too.  Tell  Him  you  can  never  Ic 
happy  till  the  victory  is  won.  Keep  talking  to  Him 
about  it  all.  He  can  make  you  willing.  Yo?i  cannct , 
but  He  can.  He  has  power  enough  and  love  enoui;h 
to  conquer  your  heart.  He  can  so  fill  you  with  Him- 
self that  to  do  His  sweet  and  holy  will,  and  nothir.g 
short  of  that,  shall  be  your  meat  and  drink — the  joy 
of  your  life. 

My  brother,  my  sister,  the  Heathen  are  perishing! 
What  are  you  doing?  You  have  but  one  little  life 
to  live. 

Take  care  not  to  miss  the  mark !  ''  You  had 
better  go,  or  you  will  be  like  me,"  said  a  Christian 
sister  regretfully  to  a  dear  young  friend  who  was 
thinking  of  going  to  China.  ''  While  you  wait  some- 
thing may  happen  to  keep  you  at  home."  Ah,  yes ! 
"Something  may  happen  "  !  If  God  is  giving  you 
the  opportunity  now,  and  you  let  it  slip,  He  may 
never  offer  you  the  chance  again  !  Some  of  us  (for 
whom  it  was  possible  to  go  to  the  Heathen)  almost 
shudder  now  to  think  /low  nearly  we  stayed  at  home  ! 
Do  not,  I  beseech  you,  let  this  great  matter  drift. 
Do  not  walk  in  uncertainty.  Do  not  be  turned 
aside.     You  will  be  eternally  the  poorer  if  you  do. 


"  DO    NOT   SAY."  77 

But  go  to  your  Father  as  a  little  child,  and  settle  it 
witli  Him. 

Bring  your  poor  Heathen  brothers  and  sisters 
and  lay  them  before  God.  Lay  yourself  before  God  ; 
and  say  "  Lord,  look  at  these  poor  people.  LOOK 
AT  THEM  IN  THEIR  SINS.  Helpless,  hopeless  Heathen, 
with  none  to  tell  them  of  Thy  love  !  O  Lord,  here 
am  I,  Thy  servant.  What  am  I  to  do  ?  Show  me 
what  MY  PART  2>." 

Alas !  This  is  just  where  so  many  of  us  fail. 
Every  Christian,  no  matter  what  other  responsibilities 
he  may  have,  has  his  oivn  responsibility  in  regard  to 
the  Heathen.  *'  If  it  is  only  some  who  are  called  To 
the  Heathen,  ALL  are  called  FOR  the  Heathen." 
Whether  it  be  our  privilege  to  go  to  them  ourselves 
or  not,  every  one  of  us  has  Jiis  own  definite  part. 
And  it  is  our  duty  to  find  out  what  our  part  is. 
How  few  of  us  have  done  this,  or  even  thought  of 
doing  it !  Speaking  for  myself,  had  my  Master  come 
a  few  years  ago  and  said  to  me,  ''  Have  you  ever  con- 
sidered the  Heathen,  and  your  responsibility  in  re- 
gard to  them?  Are  you  doing  your  part?  Have 
you  ever  taken  the  trouble  to  find  out  what  it  is?" 
I  should  have  been  obliged  to  say  **No  "  !  I  could 
have  said,  ''  Lord,  I  have  thought  about  the  Heathen 
ever  since  I  was  a  child.  I  have  had  a  missionary 
box.  I  have  occasionally  read  the  missionary  peri- 
odicals." I  could  have  said  (had  there  been  one  in 
those  days)  "  Lord,  I  am  a  member  of  the  Mission- 
ary Union !     I  have   attended    Missionary  meetings. 


78  ''  DO   NOT   SAY." 

I  have  been  on  Missionary  Committees.  At  the 
Anniversary  I  have  preached  a  Missionary  sermon, 
and  done  my  best  to  get  people  to  the  meeting.  In 
fact,  I  have  done  a  good  many  things — I  am  cer- 
tainly one  who  *  takes  a  great  interest  in  Foreign 
Missions.'  But,  Lord,  if  Thou  dost  ask  me,  have  I 
ever  seriously  come  into  Thy  presence,  and  brought 
the  Heathen  into  Thy  presence,  and  said,  *  Lord, 
look  at  these  poor  people.  Here  am  I  Thy  servant, 
what  am  I  to  do  ? ' — really  intending  to  do  it  at  all 
costs — No,  Lord,  I  have  not !  "  And  I  fear  that 
ninety-nine  Christians  out  of  a  hundred,  if  the  Mas- 
ter were  to  come  to-day,  would  have  to  say  the 
same. 

And  yet,  surely,  this  is  just  the  one  thing  we 
shall  be  held  responsible  for, — the  one  thing  which 
every  servant  of  God  is  bound  to  do,  if  he  would 
look  His  Master  in  the  face  and  be  clear  from  his 
brothers'  blood  in  the  great  Day  ? 

Will  you  not  then  go  to  your  Father,  and  in  the 
warmth  of  His  abounding  love  to  you,  will  you  not 
wait  on  Him  earnestly,  patiently,  until  you  KNOW 
He  has  spoken,  until  you  have  found  out  FROM 
Him  zv  hat  your  part  is? 

And,  then,  whether  it  be  to  free  yourself  from 
intrusive  home  claims,  and  to  go  forth  in  His  name 
to  the  Mission  Field  ;  or  whether  it  be  to  give  up 
your  long-cherished  wish  to  be  a  Missionary,  and  to 
push  the  fight  by  prayer,  and  faith,  and  effort  at 
Home — whatever  your  part  may  be,  and  whatever 


**  DO   NOT   SAY."  79 

ft  may    cost  you  —  by  His  grace  go  forward  and 
do  it. 

So  doing,  the  Heathen  shall  bless  and  not  curse 
thee,  thou  shalt  win  the  crown  instead  of  the  shame, 
and  THE  HEART  OF  JESUS  WILL  BE  GLAD. 


8o  "  DO    NOT   SAY.' 


QUESTIONS 

For   me   to   answer,   in  writing,  alone  with  God. 

"  I  gave  My  life  for  thee  : 
What  hast  thou  given  for  Me?  " 


I.  Am  I  a  servant  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ? 

?„  Am  I  serving   Him ? 

3.  Am  I  doing  His  will  xvith  7-egard  to  the  Heathen  f 

4.  Am  I  denying  myself  in  any  way  for  their  sakes  ? 

5.  Am  I  praying  fervently  for  them  ? 

6.  Am  I  reading  about  them  regularly  in  the  Missionary  Ma- 

gazines,  etc.  ? 

7.  Am  I  stirring  up  others  to  care  for  the  Heathen? 

8.  Am  I  WILLING     TO     GO     TO     THE     HeATHEN     MYSELF      FOR 

Him? 

9.  Am  I  WILLING  TO  LET  MY  CHILDREN  GO? 

10.  Am  I  WILLING  TO  LET    MY    MONEY    GO — AS  MUCH  OF  IT  AS 

He  wants? 

II.  If  so,  AM  I  going?     AM  I  letting  my  children  go?    AM  I 

letting  my  money  go  ? 

12.  To  speak  the  honest  truth,  have  I  ever  gone  directly  to 

God,  to  find  out  from  Him   what  HE  wants  ME 
to  do  ? 

13.  Did  I  persevere  until  I  got  God's  answer  f 

14.  Ami  now  obeying  His  will  ? Or  am  I  trying 

to  excuse  myself  ? 

To  sum  up: 

15.  Am  I,  OR  am  I  not,  doing  My  Part? 

16.  Have  I  ever  troubled  to  find  out  from  Him  what 

my  part  is? 

17.  If  not,  will  I  do  so  NOW^  and  not  rest  until  God 

speaks  to  me,   and    until    I    KNOW    I    AM  DOING 

His  will  with  regard  to. the  Heathen?.  .  .    , 

N.  B. — Will  you  answer  each  question  "  Yes  "  or  "  No." 


DO   NOT   SAY."  8 1 


CHAPTER  VL 
I.— A  HEATHEN  CITY. 

{Extract  from  a  Misstonary''s  Letter,  A.  D.  1888.) 

This  morning  I  climbed  a  hill,  and  looked  down 
upon  the  city — a  heathen  city  !  Yes,  here,  at  the 
close  of  the  nineteenth  century  of  the  Christian  era, 
is  a  city — a  beautiful,  busy  city — thronging  with 
civilized,  intelligent  people,  knowing  precisely  as 
much  to  day  of  the  one  true  God  as  the  Britons  did 
in  the  days  of  Boadicea ;  as  full  of  knowledge  re- 
specting Jesus  their  Saviour  as  the  paper  upon  which 
this  is  written — precisely.  And  so  we  must  leave 
them.  And  so,  I  suppose,  they  will  continue  to  be 
left — unless  you  at  home  have  something  to  say! 
But  why  am  I  writing  thus,  as  if  there  was  some- 
thing exceptional  about  Kwei-chow?  It  is  but  one 
of  the  thousands  of  cities  in  the  world  of  which  the 
same  may  be  said  in  all  truth.  Can  the  churches 
do  more  ?  Do  you  not  know  they  already  support 
a  great  many  Missionaries  in  China?  (I  think  there 
must  be  three  or  four  hundred  by  this  time,  even  if 
you  do  not  count  Women  Missionaries — and  they 
Dught  to  be  counted.)  It  is  true,  they  have  their 
ihousands  of  ministers — their  tens  and  tens  of  thou- 
sands of  workers.     It  is  true  that  in  every  one  of  our 

Do  Not  Say — 6 


82  "  DO   NOT   SAY." 

large  cities  they  have  hundreds  of  ministers,  and 
who  shall  say  how  many  hundred  workers,  with  a 
church,  mission  room,  or  something,  in  almost  every 
street ;  and  that  even  in  each  of  the  smaller  towns 
they  have  quite  a  nice  little  band,  both  of  ministers 
and  of  workers. 

And  although  it  is  true  that  if  in  China's  large 
cities,  and  in  her  thickly-populated  towns,  there 
could  be  but  one  minister,  or  just  one  disciple  oj 
Jesus  Christ,  our  poor  brothers  and  sisters  there, 
whose  souls  are  as  precious  as  our  own,  might  then 
perhaps,  at  last,  have  just  the  chance  of  hearing] 
there  is  a  God  who  loves  them,  yet  we  must  look  at 
things  soberly ;  wc  must  remember  there  are 
'*  heathen  at  home,"  and  "  charity  begins  at  home." 
Yet  somehow  it  seems  a  pity  ! 

It  is  true  that  God  says,  '*  Go  into  all  the  world 
and  preach  the  Gospel  to  every  Creature."  But  of 
course  His  servants  are  qnite  right  to  stay,  crowded 
together  in  one  spot  on  the  earth's  surface,  and 
preach  the  Gospel  only  to  a  fezv;  often  treading 
upon  each  other's  toes  ;  working  (sometimes  delib- 
erately), not  so  much  against  Satan  as  against  each 
other;  the  filling  of  one  church  meaning  the  empty- 
ing of  another ;  the  success  of  one  worker  the  disap- 
pointment of  another  ;  while  all  the  time  hundreds, 
thousands,  nay,  millions  of  our  fellow  creatures  are 
ignorantly  worshiping  sticks  and  stones  for  the  lack 
of  something  better! 

'*  Of  course  His  servants  are  quite  right !  "     But, 


"  DO   NOT   SAY."  83 

are  His  servants  quite  right  ?  Or  are  they  quite 
wrong?  May  not  God  be  saying  of  the  service  of 
some  of  His  servants  at  home,  busy  and  prominent 
workers  may  be — too  busy  perhaps  to  seek  and  fol- 
low //^?.y  leading — ^'  To  what  purpose  is  the  multitude 
of  your  sacrifices  unto  Me?"  "Bring  no  more  vain 
oblations."  "The  calling  of  assemblies  I  cannot  away 
with  ;  it  is  iniquity,  even  the  solemn  meeting."  "  I 
will  hide  Mine  eyes  from  you  ;  yea,  when  ye  make 
many  prayers  I  will  not  hear."  "Your  hands  are  full 
of  blood  "  (cf.  Acts  xx,  26)  ? 

God's  command,  "  Go  ....  TO  EVERY  CREAT- 
URE," albeit  it  was  our  Lord's  parting  message  to 
us — many  of  us  simply  ignore.  But  we  expect  Him 
to  smile  on  us  all  the  same !  Who  will  ponder  these 
things  ? 

To  preach  the  Gospel  to  the  Heathen — is  it  the 
amusement,  or  is  it  the  business  of  the  Church 
of  Christ  ?  Is  it  true  that  the  devil  himself  mar- 
vels at  our  unfaithfulness?  Does  Satan  wonder 
at  his  own  success  ?  How  long  shall  he  be 
allowed  to  triumph?  How  long  shall  he  be  suf- 
fered to  keep  these  millions  in  his  own  pos- 
session? How  long  shall  he  be  permitted  to 
enjoy  his  proud  boasting?  Shall  we  indeed  see 
him  laugh  at  our  conferences,  and  our  prayer- 
meetings,  and  our  "conventions  for  the  deepening 
of  the  spiritual  life''?  Shall  we  stand  still,  and  let 
the  devil  smile  when  we  consecrate  ourselves,  and 
talk  of  going  by-and-bye  to  the  Heathen  ? 


84  "  DO   NOT   SAY." 

Oh  !  Brothers,  let  us  be  true  !  Sisters,  be  true  ! 
By  the  devil's  scorn,  by  the  Saviour's  entreaty,  by 
Heathens'  woe,  be  true  I  ''Pay  that  which  thou 
hast  vowed."  Is  it  not  time  for  every  church  to 
have  its  representatives  in  the  Mission  Field  ?  Is  a 
church  worthy  of  the  name  if  it  has  not  ?  Is  one 
Missionary  to  half  a  million  or  a  million  people, 
and  that  Missionary  a  frail  young  girl,  perhaps,  all 
that  the  Church  of  Christ  can  do  for  those  who  are 
dying  yonder  without  God  ?  Is  it  right  for  thousands 
to  stay  at  home,  and  leave  a  mere  handful  of  ex- 
hausted fellow-workers  face  to  face  with  whole  con- 
tinents of  teeming  Heathen  held  in  bondage  under 
the  devil's  sway  ?  Is  it  not  time  to  rise  up  in  earnest 
and  dispute  the  field  with  the  great  Usurper  ?  Where 
are  the  Lord's  veterans  ?  Will  not  some  of  them — 
men  of  spiritual  power  and  influence — come  out  and 
lead  the  van  ?  Oh,  what  a  blessed  impetus  that 
would  give  !  Let  others  follow.  And,  praise  God, 
within  the  next  ten  years,  our  eyes  shall  see  the 
"  new  thing  "  which  the  Lord  will  do,  in  comparison 
with  which  ''the  former  things"  shall  be  as  nothing 
— even  "  a  way  in  the  wilderness^  and  rivers  in  the 
desert y 

Again  I  ask  in  deep  solemnity,  "  Who  will  pon- 
der these  things?  Saith  the  Lord  of  Hosts,  "  I  will 
curse  your  blessings."  Saith  the  Lord  of  Hosts, 
"  Prove  Me  now  herewith  if  I  will  not  pour  you  out 
a  blessing."  Which  shall  it  be  ?  Mal.  ii,  2  (cf.  i,  1 1)  ; 
iii,  10.     God  will  have  no  withholding.     Study  the 


"  DO   NOT   SAY."  85 

whole   book.     See   i,    14,    "  Which  hath  ....  and 
voweth,  and  .  .  .  ! " 

Some  of  us  remember  that  our  Lord  tells  us, 
because  the  harvest  is  great  and  the  laborers  are  few, 
to  pray  Him  that  He  would  thrust  forth  laborers 
into  His  harvest.  Some  of  us  forget  that  in  the 
same  breath  He  says, '' Go  .  .  .  behold  I  send  YOU." 
(Luke  X,  2,  3.)  (j.  H.  H.) 

2,— LIVE  FOR  US. 

At  our  farewell  meeting,  before  starting  for  the 
Foreign  Mission  Field,  several  Missionaries  asked 
those  who  stayed  behind  to  Pray  for  us.  I  ventured 
to  add  a  further  request — that  they  would  Believe 
for  us.  To  Pray  and  not  to  Believe,  would  be  of 
little  use. 

Now,  after  my  stay  in  China,  I  have  learned  the 
need  of  a  third  request — more  important  than  all — 
LIVE  FOR  US. 

You  know  what  I  mean.  Some  people  speak  of 
Missionaries  as  if  they  were  the  off-scouring  of  the 
earth.  That  is  of  little  consequence.  It  does  not 
trouble  me  a  bit.  But  other  dear  people  look  upon 
iMissionaries  as  if  they  were  angels — sweet  and  holy 
beings,  scarcely  men  at  all !  That  is  far  more 
serious,  and  does  more  harm.  For,  unfortunately, 
it  is  quite  as  untrue.  The  fact  is.  Missionaries  are 
just  the  same  as  other  people.  Account  for  it  as  we 
may,  what  Christians  are  at  home,  the  Missionaries 
■are  abroad — neither  better  nor  worse. 


86  "  DO   NOT   SAY." 

If  you  are  living  comfortable,  easy-going  lives; 
if  you  have  but  little  love  for  God  and  the  souls  of 
men ;  if  your  Christian  life  is  spotted  with  inconsist- 
encies, lean  and  barren  ;  if  you  are  not  abiding  in 
Jesus  and  enjoying  the  fatness  of  His  House — then 
you  may  look  across  the  water,  and  be  afraid  that 
some  of  your  Missionaries,  too,  are  living  comfort- 
able, easy-going  lives ;  that  they,  too,  have  but  little 
love  for  God  and  the  Heathen  around  them  ;  that  their 
salt  has  lost  its  savor,  and  that  they  are  not  walking 
closely  in  fellowship  with  Jesus. 

But  if,  on  the  other  hand,  you  are  living  faithful, 
self-denying  lives  at  home  ;  yielding  yourselves  unto 
God,  to  do  His  will,  and  walking  before  Him  as 
little  children,  in  all  simplicity  and  joyfulness,  then 
you  may  be  hopeful  that  your  Missionaries  also  are 
walking  in  the  light  of  God,  and  faithfully  serving 
Him  amongst  the  Heathen. 

Yes,  you  must  Live  for  us.  Praying  will  not  take 
the  place  of  Living.  Believing  will  not  take  the 
place  of  Living. 

Pray  for  us  as  much  as  you  will.  Believe  for  us, 
that  your  prayers  may  be  effectual.  But  if  you 
would  really  help  us — and  that  means,  if  you  would 
really  help  the  dear  native  Christians,  for  they  look 
to  US  for  example  and  inspiration — see  to  it  that 
you  are  yourselves  living  day  by  day  in  communion 
with  Jesus. 

Pray  for  us.  Believe  for  us.  But,  above  all,  I 
beseech  you,  LIVE  FOR  US. 


*'  DO   NOT  SAY."  87 

3.— EXTRACTS    FROM   A    MISSIONARY'S 
NOTE  BOOK. 

(I.)  I  must  bear  my  little  testimony  to  our 
Father's  great  goodness  and  tender  care  of  His 
child  when  travelling  alone  amongst  the  Heathen — 
Shown  so  often  in  the  very  smallest  things. 

To  be  able  to  hand  ourselves  and  all  our  affairs 
over  to  Him  ;  to  let  Him  lead,  smoothly  or  roughly, 
quickly  or  slowly,  comfortably  or  uncomfortably,  in 
the  light  or  in  the  dark,  in  bodily  weakness  or  in 
health,  amidst  sympathizing  friends  or  spite-spitting 
foes,  and  to  know  that  all  is  going  RIGHT— what 
rest  it  is  !  Jitst  to  live  a  day  at  a  time  !  How  easy 
it  makes  things— things  which  would  otherwise  be  a 
constant  fret.  Thanks  be  to  God  for  the  measure  in 
which,  through  His  patience  with  me,  this  has  been 
my  experience.  "  Know  ye  that  the  Lord,  He  is — 
GOD!" 

(II.)  During  the  year  I  was  Itinerating  26  weeks  5  days, 
and  travelled  about  5,138  miles,  at  a  cost  of  $75.00,  including 
everythijio-. 

Personal  expenses  for  board,  lodging,  and 
everything  else,  averaged  about  8c.  a  day. 

Travelling  expenses  for  steamer,  or  boat,  or 
coolie,  average  about  15c.  each  travelling  day. 

On  any  one  journey  the  maximum  personal 
expenditure  (on  a  journey  of  ten  days)  averaged 
iij^c.  per  day.  The  minimum  personal  expendi- 
ture (on  a  journey  of  thirteen  days)  averaged  6c.  per 
day. 


88  *'  DO   NOT  SAY." 

Specimen  journey,  from  Gyiu-chow  to  Kwe-chi, 
via  Pu-chin.  Distance  273  miles.  Days  occupied 
(preaching  and  travelling)  16.  Expenses — travel- 
ling, $2.35  ;  personal  (for  board,  lodging,  etc.), 
$1.25;  total,  $3.68. 

Days  upon  which  I  accepted  hospitality  are  not 
reckoned  in  any  of  the  above  statements,'^ 

In  Inland  China  instead  of  getting  run  down  by 
knocking  about  in  the  native  inns,  and  eating  the 
native  food,  experience  shows  that  in  most  cases  we 
get  run  up !  Instead  of  having  to  return  to  our 
Stations  to  recruit  after  a  spell  of  itinerating,  more 
often  is  there  need  to  go  off  itinerating  in  order  to 
recruit  after  a  spell  of  staying  at  home.  But  Mis- 
sionaries are  invariably  short-handed.  All  sorts  of 
little  things  seem  to  weave  a  network  around  you, 
and  tie  you  to  your  Station.  It  is  often  the  hardest 
thing  in  the  world  to  get  away.  And  yet  if  we 
could  itinerate  more,  it  would  be  better  for  our 
health.  Is  as  much  attention  given  to  this  as  its 
importance  deserves? 

(III.)  Though  it  cannot  be  said  that  the  Chinese 
are  hungering  for  the  Gospel,  (they  do  not  know 
there  is  any  Gospel  to  hunger  for!)  they  are 
ready  to  listen  to  the  Gospel.  And  the  country  is 
open  for  the  Missionary  to  itinerate  wherever  he 
pleases,  from  north  to  south,  and  from  east  to  west. 

Fifty  or  a  hundred  Missionaries  go  to  China  in  a 

*Under  unfavorable  circumstances,    and  in  other  localities,  the  cost 
would  be  more. 


"DO    NOT   SAY."  89 

year.  And  the  Church  of  Christ,  instead  of  falling 
on  her  face  in  shame  and  desperation  that  so  few 
should  have  gone,  congratulates  herself  that  she  is 
"  doing  so  mucky  So  much  !  Oh,  if  we  could  only- 
see  as  God  sees,  and  feel  as  God  feels,  and  care  as 
God  cares ;  if  we  could  only  take  in  what  it  really 
means,  that  our  fellow-men  are  being  left  without 
God  ;  if  we  could  only  see  things  as  they  are^  a 
shock  of  grief  would  rouse  the  Christian  Church  to 
tears,  and  bring  us  horror-stricken  to  the  dust  before 
God. 

And  then,  filled  with  a  burning  shame  and 
Godlike  enthusiasm,  we  should  rise  to  our  feet,  bent 
at  last  upon  doing  our  Master's  will. 

From  all  sides  Christian  men  and  women  would 
be  pouring  into  the  Foreign  Mission  Fields. 
Parents  would  no  longer  be  keeping  back  their 
children,  but  urging  them  on.  Every  Church — no, 
almost  every  House — would  have  its  representatives 
abroad.  And  in  a  very  short  time  every  family  in 
China — yes,  every  family  in  the  world — would  have 
heard  of  the  Saviour's  love.  And  our  own  beloved 
land  would  be  a  thousandfold  the  richer ! 

Oh,  it  might  so  easily  be  done,  and  we  are  not  do- 
ing it!  Surely  Satan  has  blinded  our  eyes.  We 
are  asleep,  while  dreaming  we  are  awake  ! 

Are  there  now  bright  gleams  of  encouragement, 
new  doors  of  hope  ?  Thank  God.  But  still  the 
supreme,  the  overwhelming  thought  which  pierces 
the  heart  of  the  Missionary  as  he  travels  in  China 


90  "  DO   NOT   SAY." 

to-day  is  this : — "  My  POOR  BROTHERS  !  MY  POOR 
SISTERS  !  WHAT  A  CRUEL  SHAME  IT  IS  THAT  WE  AT 
HOME  ARE  FEASTING  ourselves  TO  THE  FULL,  AND 
LEAVING  you  THUS— IN  HUNDREDS  AND  THOUSANDS 
OF  THOUSANDS  TO  PERISH  !  " 


Our  Work  in 
the  Home  Field. 


1.  The  Home,  Frontier,  and  Foreign  Missionary  Society  is 
helping  to  sustain  above  forty  home  missions. 

2.  The  prosecution  of  these  missions  the  past  year  has  re- 
sulted in  about  one  thousand  accessions  to  the  Church. 

3.  Many  of  these  missions  are  set  within  the  large  centers 
of  population  in  our  large  cities. 

4.  Our  missions  are  in  need  of  more  liberal  appropriations. 

We  must  make  the  One  Hundred 
Thousand  Dollar  Line  in  the  pres= 
ent  quadrennium. 

1.  Let  every  pastor  make  special  effort  to  secure  life  mem- 
bers and  life  directors  in  the  Missionary  Society.  Ten  dollars 
paid  in  two  payments,  constitutes  one  a  life  member,  and 
fifty  dollars  paid,  if  need  be,  in  five  installments,  constitutes 
one  a  life  director.  A  beautiful  certificate  is  issued  to  life 
members  and  life  directors. 

2.  Certificates  are  issued  to  children  and  young  people 
who  raise  or  donate  one  or  three  dollars  for  missions,  the 
same  to  be  reported   through  the  pastor. 

3.  This  office  is  prepared  to  send  out  at  any  time  to  pas- 
tors or  others  desiring  to  raise  missionary  money,  pyramids, 
punch  cards,  or  regular  offering  envelopes;  also,  missionary 
tracts,  and  tracts  on  Christian  giving. 

4.  The  Society  invites  and  solicits  special  donations,  be- 
quests, etc. 

For  supplies,  fuller  information,  etc.,  address  the  Secretary 
at  Dayton,  Ohio. 


VBX9878.76  Hfil  hfc  < 

I'"  no' say  :or,'f.echurch-s  excuses  300kS. 

on         ''""''"''»'l'''IJ(lilllllll^|  I        iiiger,  D.D. 

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Our  Missionary  Work  from  1853  to  1889.    By  D.  K. 

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The  Holy  Spirit  in  Missions.    By  A.  J.  Gordon,  D.D. 

Cloth,  gilt  top,  12mo ^^1,  25 

The  Divine  Enterprise  of  Missions.  A  series  of  le^ip 
tures.  By  Rev.  A.  T.  Pierson,  D.D.  The  author 
seeks  the  eternal  and  immutable  principles  of  mis-  '• 
si  on  work  in  the  utterances  of  Jesus,  and  tests  the 
quality  of  such  work  by  its  adb erence^t_Q*<'-#'  depart- 
ure from,  those  principles  as  laid  dowiftlithe  Divine 
Word.     16mo,  cloth,  gilt  top 125 

The  Crisis  of  Missions.    By  A.  T.  Pierson,  D.D.  Cloth, 

SI. 25  ;  paper .* 35 

The  Miracles  of  Missions.  The  mo(rern  marvels  in 
the  history  of  missionary  enterprise.  By  Dr.  A.  T. 
Pierson.     Cloth,  $1 ;  paper 35 

'=-.;:;.-^-  Any  of  the  above  sent  postpaid  on  receipt  of  price.      Addrms 
W.  J.  SHUEY,  Dayton,  Ojd^ 


